The Stray
by Dragon and Sword Master
Summary: You would think that with the last name of Schnee that I would want for nothing, right? Well I guess there's an exception when one is born a Faunus...
1. White isn't Always Pure

Dragon and Sword Master: I so blame Phoenix Commander and Shadow Nightblade for the idea that created this story. I also want to thank Shadow Nightblade for helping me with this story. The idea of the Grimm "Mayura" comes from Deviantart User: Blue-Hearts and the spider-like design comes from her drawing of "The Nope".

Also…I'm not dead! Just have been very very busy these last couple of years and just…yeah. Between various bouts of writer's block, moving into a new apartment, getting a new job, etc. Things have been quite busy for me. *chuckles awkwardly*

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: White isn't Always Pure**_

"You were a mistake."

Those were the last words I heard from my 'father' and the last time that I will refer to him as such. Then again...he was never my 'father' in the first place, not really. Sure he gave life to me, housed me and mom, and gave her a job...but other than that, he was no 'father'. How do I know this? Simple. But perhaps I should go back a few years first…so that you all understand.

See…I was born as Weiss Schnee. Before you ask, the answer is yes; my family…well, former family, owned the Dust company you're thinking of. Here, it might be better if I go back to the beginning…or at least how my… new mom told me about it; it's a long story.

My new mother said that 'him' and my biological mother met at a bar…

 ** _Flashback_**

"Hey Tom, that time of the year again?" the bartender asked as he placed a shot glass in front of the white-haired man as he sat down, along with a bottle of whiskey. Usually he wouldn't do this, but Thomas Schnee wasn't anyone, nor did he come here all the time. Once a year he came to the Luliza Bar on the behest of his dead wife since she loved the place and atmosphere here. Over the years, he got to know the bartender.

"It is Larry" Thomas Schnee said with a light sigh before pouring himself a drink. Two years ago, his wife of ten years had died due to an attack at a rally as he was addressing the rumors his company were hiding when it came to its Faunus workers. It was supposed to be him…shaking that thought off, he felt someone sitting next to him.

"You okay?" a feminine voice asked as Thomas turned to look at the female. He debated about answering for a few seconds before sighing lightly. Besides, what could it hurt?

"Not really…"

"Cal. So, what seems to be the trouble…Tom, right?" she asked, hoping that she overheard the man's name correctly. Seeing him nod at that, she smiled lightly, glad that she got the man's name right.

 ** _End Flashback_**

In the Desert sands of Vacuo, a black and red portal came out of nowhere before two people appeared out of it, a cat Faunus and a black-haired human. She knew that her charge was going to complain…and the Faunus didn't disappoint.

"Ugh…why are we here Mother? I thought you said we were going somewhere decent temperature wise, not a desert," the white cat Faunus asked before seeing a scowl on her companion's face.

"I told you to not call me that Weiss; I'm not your mother. And don't complain. We're here so you can do some Glyph Training and because I have a job to do," the black-haired female stated as she took off her Grimm-like mask to look at her young charge and clipped it under the feathers.

"Can I help?"

"This isn't like last time Weiss, where your eye sight helped with those Rat Grimm. Besides, I'm already going to be hindered with what I'm wearing," Raven commented as she pointed out the fact that she was wearing a black dress with matching black boots. The crimson dyed belt and gauntlets she was wearing wouldn't help matters either when it came to the heat and quite honestly, Raven was feeling its effects already…not that she would let Weiss know. Then again, the feathers that were hanging off of the right side of her skirt did allow for a somewhat cooling factor.

"Alright…" Weiss said dejectedly. For the last couple of years, Raven would sometimes take her on Grimm hunts around the four continents. Having seen some of the rarest of Grimm, Weiss knew that if Raven thought it was too much for her, then she would be told. "I guess I can do some light training, maybe find a way to block out the sun while I'm at it," she added, especially since the heat was getting to her as well. Since she was born in Atlas, the heat was definitely not agreeing with her. Add in the fact that she was wearing a one piece that was a shirt on the top that was a light gray and ended out in a light gray miniskirt. The navy blue sash around her waist, along with two cuffs at the end of the sleeves, was the only thing that was currently reflecting sunlight.

"Make sure that you do Weiss. A Mr. Wukong has stated that there's a Muster of Mayuras around here, and I'll be fine against their hypnotic effects thanks to my mask, but you have no such protection," Raven replied before unclipping the mask and putting it back on. Looking at Weiss with the crimson contacts in place, she silently hoped that this would work. Creating a portal and heading through it, she sighed lightly. Though if she knew what Weiss was going to deal with at the clearing she left her at, then she would have stayed to help the kitten…maybe. The girl still had a lot to learn after all…

 ** _Flashback_**

"St-op, ple-ase!" an eight-year-old Weiss said as she blocked a fist with a cross guard, out of breath and stamina. She had been working on close quarter combat (CQC) for the last year and a half, constantly sparring with the older female. And while Weiss knew that Raven wasn't using her full strength against her…her mother's punches still _hurt_.

"You know how I feel about breaks Weiss. Are you just saying that because you want a breather or do you think you're done for the night?" Raven asked. The black-haired woman quickly showed Weiss the consequences of asking for a break when she just wanted some time to recover from the wounds given. Though after every sparring session, she made sure to take the time to bandage and treat the cuts and bruises to the best of her abilities.

"I thi…nk I'm do…ne for the night," the feline faunus stated feeling as if she was about to faint. Raven nodded at that, knowing that the seven-year-old could only do so much. Then again…she wondered how her biological daughter was doing. Quickly shaking her head of such a thought, especially since she didn't deserve to think about Yang, not with abandoning her like that.

"Alright then," she said before rummaging through the bag she recently bought and took a few medical salves and supplies. If Weiss was older, then she wouldn't be doing this but since she was still young…she would help Weiss heal, if only a little.

For now.

 ** _End Flashback_**

' _Of course this would happen right after Raven leaves,'_ Weiss mentally deadpanned as she dodged out of the way of a silk shot from the mouth of a Garantula Grimm. Luckily for the eleven-year-old, it was only a few of the spider Grimm, and not a full colony like what they had faced last month in Vale. Now that was completely annoying, but at least she was focusing more on buffing and defending Raven while only attacking if they were getting too close. Then again she was only ten. And while she was extremely powerful for her age, (even if she couldn't beat Raven yet) her body had limits.

Sliding her body to the left, she avoided a bite from the vicious spider Grimm which was quickly countered by thrusting her weapon, a slender rapier she decided to name Myrtenaster, through the tan abdomen of the spider. This was one of its weak points, the singular red eye that was behind its massive jaws was another one. This was what the Hunters and Huntresses went after most since it didn't have an exoskeleton, able to just see its food. However, this was protected at all costs by the jaws of the spider. However, a Garantula knew that this weakness existed and did its best to protect it. In fact, it would sometimes spit out spider silk and capture the Hunter/Huntress before draining their blood. However, Weiss countered this deadly combination by using a strengthening glyph at the beginning of this battle.

One down…and four to go.

At least, that's what she thought before feeling a glob of silk hit her in the back. Or it would have if it wasn't for the Shield glyph she put on herself earlier. _'Good…that worked'_ she thought silently, not sure if it would or not since it was still in the experimental phases. But in a battle with this amount of odds…she needed an edge. _'Should I?'_ she questioned herself, wincing lightly when she felt one of the spiders bite into her left leg, drawing blood.

Stabbing downwards, she felt the tip of her rapier pierce its eye and quickly felt it dissolving into black smoke like all Grimm did once defeated. However, now she knew that she had to take these out quickly and hope that Raven would get back to her before their venom took effect. If not…she shook her head at that, not wanting to think along those lines. Not only that, but she couldn't afford to get bitten again.

A scowl formed on her face as she brandished her weapon of choice in front of her once again, knowing that she couldn't make any more glyphs at the moment, but knowing that with her strength and shield glyphs in place, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Raven_ ~_~_~_~_~_~**

' _I've told that girl many times I'm not her mother…'_ Raven thought with a light sigh as she trudged through the desert in search of her prey. _'Still though…in her last will and testimony, Cal did ask for me to raise her instead of Thomas…not that I blame her, especially with what he said when I left.'_ She thought before shaking her head lightly, knowing that this wasn't the time for such a thing. Right now, she was on a job; anything could come to mind after it was finished.

Hearing a sound in the distance, she checked to make sure that her mask was firmly in place and wouldn't have a chance of slipping. Unlike most Grimm who attacked aggressively against Hunters/Huntresses, Mayuras worked more on hypnotizing their prey before going in for the kill. Therefore, Raven wanted to make sure that she wouldn't fall under the monster's nasty effect. After that, she placed a hand on her Odachi before heading towards where she heard the sound. Making sure that she didn't make any sounds on the sand as she headed up the hill, Raven saw several of the peacock-like Grimm and just shook her head.

' _Well…time to get to work I suppose,'_ she thought before using the speed she gained over numerous years of training, before seemingly vanishing into the nest below. A few seconds later, she reappeared on the other side as the valley below filled with black smoke and was glad to find out that her plan worked: hit hard and hit fast. Granted some of the avian Grimm were able to get all of their tail feathers to full standing form…her mask was able to negate the hypnotic effect they had. Without that, these Grimm weren't that hard to take down. And even though Raven knew that, it was still a disappointment all the same. Now all she had to do was head back for Weiss, go to the town and report to Mr. Wukong that particular brand of Grimm had been wiped out…for now.

Closing her eyes and focusing on her own Aura, she sent it out in a pulse, using it to locate where Weiss was. Once that was accomplished, she noticed that her Aura was dwindling fast. Not only that, which did alarm Raven just a little, she noticed that the Aura was constantly moving. _'Just what the hell is going on…'_ she thought before 'locking' onto Weiss's Aura signature and using her Semblance to create a portal behind her. Once that was done, she stepped backwards and let the portal consume her before disappearing…just like the black smoke that was once the nest of Mayura.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Weiss_ ~_~_~_~_~_~**

Weiss moved to the side as she watched a glob of spider silk hit the sand in front of her, her breathing labored as she blocked another one with her rapier. She could already feel the paralytic venom coursing through her bloodstream and affecting her body. Breathing heavily, she knew that she couldn't last much longer…not without help from her mother. Then again, she had dwindled their numbers from ten down to three; though that wasn't without injury. Small scratches littered her body and there were some places over her body where the Garantula had successfully attached their silk. However, that was how two of the spiders met their demise at the end of her weapon. Though that, too, had also dwindled her reserves, both her strength and her speed.

She had used this tactic a few other times before they caught on. However, by that time it was enough to make it a manageable fight…hopefully. Noticing that they were staying away from her, Weiss let out a light cat-like growl before quickly going over her options. One, she could force a haste glyph on herself and attempt to get at them; two, she could just give up and let them kill her, or…she could try something reckless that might just work as a final option, assuming Raven was correct. Of course it went without saying that if this didn't work out the way that both she and her mother thought it would…then she would be dead. Granted if it did succeed then she would still be in the same situation, but at least she would have a better chance to stay alive.

But desperate times called for desperate measures.

' _Let's hope this works…'_ she thought before channeling Aura into her weapon. Once the tip of her rapier was glowing a soft silver, Weiss then got into the stance that Master Skye had taught her over the years: her left arm at a forty-five-degree angle and the ball of her left foot the only thing on the ground. Positioning most of her weight on her back foot with her right hand in a fist, purely out of habit. Before the Garantulas could make a move due to her new actions, she lunged forward and let the energy held within Myrtenaster loose at the same time, a beam of energy coming forth, enveloping both spiders and obliterating them. After that, she dropped to a knee unable to do anything like that again…for now anyways. Breathing heavily, she did her best to keep conscious but knew that she was fighting a losing battle.

Seeing someone nearby, she reached for her weapon. However, due to being in the condition she was in, she couldn't do anything with it. Seeing the figure slowly coming closer, Weiss tried her hardest to do something…even if it was just to lift her blade. But as the figure came closer…Weiss felt a sense of calmness spread over her body though she didn't understand why. Not until she saw that the person had a tail just like her…and if her eyes weren't playing tricks on her; a pair of eyes the color of the ocean.

' _Mom?'_ Weiss thought…thinking that it was Calypso, her biological mother that Raven had told her about. Before anything else could happen, Weiss finally lost the battle with consciousness and passed out on the sands beneath her.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Raven_ ~_~_~_~_~_~**

Raven came out of the portal and saw Weiss lying face down on the sand. Resisting the urge to panic, the elder female did a quick scan and found out what was wrong: her nervous system was starting to shut down due to paralysis, and she was dangerously low on Aura. Picking the kitten up carefully, Raven glanced around before noticing a small path of glass in front of her. _'What caused that to happen I wonder…I'll have to ask Weiss when she wakes up'_ she thought. Focusing on Mr. Wukong's residence before activating her Semblance and stepping into the portal, she was standing in front of her client's door. Doing the best so as to not jostle Weiss and knock on the door at the same time, she waited for a few seconds before the door was opened.

"Ms. Huntress?" Mr. Wukong asked before seeing the girl in her arms and quickly ushered the two of them inside, directing her to the guest bedroom. He didn't know what the huntress he contracted would do next, but he, himself, couldn't turn an injured person away. It just wasn't in his nature.

Raven said nothing as she followed the monkey Faunus inside his home. Once being shown the guest bedroom, she carefully placed Weiss on the bed. If anyone else were to see this act of care, she'd gut the person. Turning back around and seeing the questioning look on the client's face, she sighed lightly knowing that she needed to explain herself. "You were the closest place that I could get to," she said after a few seconds.

"And the girl? I don't remember seeing her with you last time," the elder monkey Faunus stated, hopefully not stepping outside of his boundaries by asking about the girl.

"Someone under my protection," she said in a tone that told the man not to look into it any more than that. She didn't want to come off as rude, especially since she was a guest in this man's home, but Weiss's health came first. And every second that she was without the antidote to that particular venom…the closer Weiss was to having permanent damage.

"Then it's a good thing I went ahead and told my son to get the anti-venom for that. Sadly, it's a frequent danger around these parts, dealing with that particular Grimm. Thankfully most people just try to get away instead of playing hero," he commented before noticing the Huntress starting to get up.

"If you're worried about Sun taking advantage of your charge, don't be. He knows how to behave himself around females. His friend, on the other hand, worries me," he admitted with a light laugh.

"I…see," she responded after a few seconds, knowing that there was nothing that she could do at the moment. "Thank you for your hospitality," she finally said before letting out a light yawn. Apparently after working on adrenaline for so long had an aftereffect after all. Though she definitely wanted to be awake for when Weiss woke up.

"Ms. Huntress, why don't you go ahead and take a nap while I work on dinner for the three of us? I'll wake you when it's ready, promise."

"And my charge?" she asked, wanting to make sure that Weiss was safe. She wouldn't be able to look Cal in the eye when she got to the afterlife if something bad happened to the kitten while she was alive and nearby.

"She is under the capable hands of my son, Sun. I promise you that no harm will come to her, and she will be cured by the end of tomorrow," Mr. Wukong replied before hearing a soft sigh coming from the woman.

"Alright," she finally said and followed him to the living room after he suggested that she take the couch for now and that they could discuss sleeping arrangements after dinner. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Raven unclipped her Nodachi, but placed it nearby so that she could easily reach it if the need arose. Once he came back with a pillow and a light blanket, he was surprised to see that Raven had not removed her mask and raised an eyebrow about it. "I don't remove it. People who've seen my face have died." She said, telling a complete lie. Besides, the man didn't need to see her face or know the true reason she wore it in the first place.

Slowly succumbing to her sudden tiredness, the last thought from the Huntress was of how worried she was, just like when she found her for the first time. Shaking that thought from her head, she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her, using it to recover from the day's events.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Weiss_ ~_~_~_~_~_~**

Seeing his father coming inside with two females, his interest was piqued when he saw that the younger female being carried had a tail just like he did. Seeing the strands of spider silk on her body, he had a feeling the girl was suffering from an attack by those damn spiders. After seeing the older female placing the younger one down on the guest bed, Sun saw his father motion to get the antidote. Nodding, Sun went off to do just that. Returning to the room with the med-kit in hand, he noticed that neither of the adults were in the room and had a feeling his dad trusted him to take care of her until she woke up, whoever this girl was. Shrugging lightly, Sun did everything necessary when it came to handling needles before giving the girl the medicine that she needed. Once it entered her bloodstream, he noticed that the pained expression on the girl's face relaxed, causing him to have a soft smirk. _'Now what?'_ he asked before sitting down beside the bed.

Resting his blonde locks at the side of the bed, Sun sighed as his monkey tail swished idly back and forth behind him. Wearing a simple pair of shorts and a T-shirt, the monkey Faunus kept his ears open in case the girl he was supposed to be keeping an eye on said anything.

 ** _Flashback_**

Weiss looked behind her with fear in her eyes as she continued running, even though she knew that she was almost in the clear. She had stolen from this shopkeeper last month and knew that he could only go so far before his stamina ran out. However, she had been unlucky in the past. Shaking her head so as to forget that painful memory, she wasn't paying attention as she turned the corner and ran smack dab into someone. As she fell backwards onto her butt, she let out a small grunt in pain.

Before she could make a quick apology, the shopkeeper had caught up to the pair and grabbed Weiss by the arm, harshly.

"There you are, you little thief. How many times have I told you that if I caught you shoplifting again that I'll turn you into the cops?" he asked before dragging the cat Faunus with him back to his store. Before he could get far with the struggling girl, the person that Weiss bumped into got his attention.

"What did she steal and how much for it?"

"She stole an apple and a loaf of bread, why? What's it to you lady?" he asked with Weiss thinking the same exact thing. Besides, no one did anything for her for free. Not when she was known as 'that stray bastard child' by the public. "And that costs five lien altogether," he said before the woman dug into the pouch at her side and gave the man the required money. Seeing that he was paid, the man let the cat Faunus go before heading back to his store.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Weiss turned to the raven-haired woman who just saved her from who-knows-what. "Why did you do that?" she asked.

"Because it was the right thing to do," the woman responded, causing Weiss to raise an eyebrow in concern.

"Right. And my father wants me back in his loving arms," Weiss quipped, spitting the word 'father' out as if it were poison causing the woman to raise an eyebrow at that. Could it be…Weiss?

"Your father wouldn't happen to be Thomas Schnee, would it?" she asked, instantly causing the girl to get in a defensive stance, her tail bristling in anger. However, her anger was outmatched by her curiosity.

"And if it was?" she asked cautiously as her eyes darted around for an escape. Just because she was only five years old didn't mean that she hadn't already acquired skills and traits of a person who had lived on the streets all their life. And one of the rules on the street was that no one did anything for free.

"You might not remember me then, but my name is Raven…I was friends with your mother," Raven said as she introduced herself and hoping that Weiss wouldn't be too hostile towards her. Though she was expecting it all the same, especially since she had been searching for the kitten for almost a year by now.

"You…you knew my mom?" she whispered as Raven just nodded. "Prove it then," Weiss responded. She wanted to see if this 'Raven' was actually telling the truth or not. And if she was...then she wanted to know about her mother. She only had a few memories...

 ** _End Flashback_**

Weiss slowly opened her eyes, though was surprised at her surroundings "Ugh…" she moaned out, wincing lightly as she heard someone nearby quickly get up and rush out of the room. Her vision was still blurry so she couldn't notice any details, but she could have sworn she saw a tan tail. Shaking her head lightly, Weiss closed her eyes before letting her other senses come back into focus. She had a feeling that Raven had found her after she lost consciousness and brought her here, wherever here was. Sighing lightly, she didn't realize she slipped back into a dozing state until that same person who was in the room with her when she woke up started shaking her.

"Wha…?" she asked in a light daze. And if her weapon was any closer to her then she would have probably stabbed whoever it was shaking her at the moment since she didn't recognize it. However, her vision soon started getting better and she saw that it was a boy shaking her awake.

"…want to eat, you need to get up!" the boy said before Weiss grunted (if she was still in the Schnee Manor, her father would have reprimanded her for that) and told the boy to get away from her so that she could get up. Heeding her warning, Sun exited the room and ran straight into the woman the girl was with. "Raven?" He asked, having overheard the woman's name from his father.

"How is she doing?" Raven asked before Sun told her that she just woke up and would probably be enjoying dinner with them soon. Nodding at that, the seemingly coldhearted woman nodded lightly at that before saying something that Sun thought he would never hear from the woman: "Thank you Sun"

"Don't mention it," he said, waving it off as if nothing had happened between the two. "I'm just glad to see she's safe." Sun said as he headed towards the kitchen. Once he headed around the corner, Raven entered the room. "Weiss?" she questioned, wanting to make sure her charge was awake.

"Mom?" she asked as Raven just shook her head at that and sighed before taking her mask off and placing it on the night table.

"You're never going to stop calling me that, are you?"

"Probably not," Weiss commented, getting a sigh out of Raven which caused the girl to laugh lightly at that. She then noticed that Raven got serious, so she did as well, waiting for the question she knew Raven was going to ask.

"When I found you…I saw a line of glass in the sand. I'm assuming that was you, but I'm curious as to how it happened."

"Well…" Weiss started as her tail swished lazily behind her, indicating that she was thinking about what to say. Seconds turned into minutes as the two sat in silence.

"Weiss?"

"It's…you remember that theory about channeling Aura into a weapon? I was desperate at the time and figured that I'd rather fight and die then just surrender. I gathered a great deal into Myrtenaster before thrusting it out. What you saw was the result, though it almost drained me of all my Aura. I can show you tomorrow…if you want," Weiss commented, getting a nod from the older female in the room. After that, she asked how Weiss was feeling and received a positive answer in return.

And even though she didn't show it, Raven was glad to see that Weiss…her second daughter, was alright. Maybe in time…she could show herself in front of her biological daughter. Someday.

Dinner had been a simple affair and during that time, Raven noticed that both Weiss and Sun had befriended each other. Whatever would come from that in the future Raven didn't know, but she was glad that Weiss had made a friend. Commenting that she was going outside for a bit, Mr. Wukong acknowledged it and asked that she lock up when she came back inside.

Stepping outside, Raven took a small picture from an inside pocket of her vest and looked at it for a few seconds. On it was a picture of two girls: what seemed to be around the age of five. Looking at the blonde female, Raven let out a soft smile for a few seconds, wondering what it would have been like if she had stayed. Shaking her head quickly at that thought, she knew what would happen: Ruby would never had been born, and she would constantly be on guard since her enemies could use Yang and Tai against her. And that was something she never wanted for her daughter.

Placing the picture back in its spot, she then looked out into the distance. _'Perhaps…I should start thinking about increasing Weiss's training…she's not going to be a kid for much longer after all..._ '

 **End Chapter**

* * *

Dragon and Sword Master: I still blame Phoenix Commander's RWBY story, "The Pedigree" that started this idea in my head. That and the first words of this chapter appeared in my brain late one night as I was heading to bed.

Raven: Surprised you chose me to be the Guardian of young Weiss…I'm not the best mother after all…

Dragon and Sword Master: That will be changed though. Next chapter will have more Raven and Weiss interactions and then most likely there will be either one more chapter of that before getting to Beacon or getting to Beacon itself. Either/or.


	2. A Dusty Dilemna

Dragon and Sword Master: Hello people, and I'm back with another installment of "The Stray". So as I said last chapter, we'll be seeing more of Raven and Weiss interacting with the world of Remnant. I'm glad to see that you're all enjoying how I'm portraying Raven so far and hopefully I can do her character justice…And not make her too out of character. But enough about my ramblings. You came here for the story.

Weiss: Furthermore, this chapter was written before my father's official name was stated in Canon. As such, he will not be changing it.

Guest asking about Winter/Whitley: Both will be in the story, but that's all I'm going to say.

 **Shadow Nightblade, TitaniumTurleX, Sakuralovelight, Setsuna Lucifer, DizzyDax, and DarkDevilKnight** : Thank you all for putting this on your story follows list.

 **KnightsofSprite:** Thanks for following me, and I hope that you enjoy the show.

 **TitaniumTurtleX and Sakurako Nagasaki:** Thank you for putting this story on your favorites list.

The Stray

 _ **Chapter 2: Dusty Dilemma in the Town of Sand**_

Three months had passed since Weiss had awakened from her coma due to the spider venom. During that time, Raven had pushed up her training when it concerned her daughter…and surprisingly, Sun had joined as well. At first, she was against it especially since Sun didn't need the training but over time, both Faunus children wore her down until she finally consented. However, just like she warned, she didn't go easy on the pre-teens.

"Ugh…your mom is a slave driver" the thirteen-year-old muttered as his face landed on the pillow. Nevertheless, Sun could feel the benefits as well as the pain from working out/training with Raven, causing Weiss to laugh lightly at his comment.

"You knew what you were getting into when you persuaded her," Weiss responded as she sat down on the dresser, not feeling any pity for her friend. Though during her three months training with her mother, she noticed that she had gotten faster, both in body and with her glyphs. Even now, she was starting to feel confident about drawing her glyphs while in mid-battle. "But you can't lie that it's helping you."

"True," he said before turning his head to the side so that he was looking at Weiss. "I will admit that I'm enjoying the benefits of training with her, but I still say she's a slave driver," he muttered.

"Oh, I'm slave driver am I?" Raven asked, causing the color in Sun's face to drain.

"Um...no?" he answered, though he was still uncertain about that.

"Then I guess I'll go ahead and up the weights for you tomorrow then Sun. You both are wearing them now, right?" she asked, getting a nod from the monkey and cat Faunus. "Good. And Weiss, how many times have I told you to get off the furniture? Just because you're half cat doesn't mean you have to act like one," she scolded.

"Sorry mother," Weiss replied. Though she couldn't help it; she liked being on tall places.

"Just don't get caught again," Raven said as Weiss nodded. After telling the two that dinner was almost ready, she left the room.

"Maybe I should get a laser pointer?" Sun asked. Even if her father had disowned her, she had received the Schnee Glare which she was using in full force against the boy. "Alright alright, I give." He said with a laugh, though he was now feeling better and not as sore. Hearing his father call towards them five minutes later for dinner, Sun got up off the bed while Weiss jumped off the dresser.

 _ **The Next Day**_

"Alright, now that we're warmed up, what should we do first? Weapon and Aura, strength or individual training?" Raven asked in a rare act of kindness. Of course this caused both children to look at her as if she was riding a Boarbatusk. "What?" she asked after seeing the looks that she was getting.

"It's just that you don't usually let us choose," Weiss commented, getting a nod from Sun in agreement.

"Well I felt like switching it up a little bit today. Unless you want me to choose?" she asked, quickly getting two shakes of the head. "I'll give you a few seconds to decide then," was all that she said before leaving the two children to discuss amongst themselves. As she watched them, a small voice from the back of her mind commented about how it could have been her _own_ daughter that she was teaching.

' _Shut up. I had my reasons.'_

' _ **Yes your…reasons. Protecting Tai and Yang from our enemies. Then what's stopping you from doing the same with Weiss?'**_

' _I promised…'_

' _ **Yes, yes your 'promise' to Calypso. But is that the only reason? Or are you just trying to redeem yourself…'**_ At that, she lightly growled before checking over to see that the two seemed to have come to a conclusion and turned back towards them. "Your decision?" she asked.

"Weapon and Aura training. The sooner I get a better grasp on my Aura, the sooner I can find out what my Semblance is," Sun said though it caused Weiss to sigh lightly at that. He was always trying to catch up to her in that.

"Alright then, Aura first." Raven said before leading them towards a tree that looked healthy, even in the arid weather. "Now then, you both remember what to do for this exercise, right?" she asked before getting nods from the two of them. While meditation was one of the greatest tools for strengthening one's Aura, focus was also needed. And with this exercise, they were going to work on that. And if it helped them in other aspects of life then that was just a bonus.

As the two of them jumped towards the tree and one of the higher branches, Raven commented to have them not use their tails once they got on the branch. Though she did give Weiss the order to create a platform Glyph just in case they fell; she wasn't completely heartless after all. Once they were situated, Raven watched over them, making sure that they were focusing on keeping themselves from falling.

An hour later, Raven told them to stop and come down. Doing so, she looked them over and noticed that they were panting lightly though she wasn't sure if it was because of the sun or the extended usage of their Auras. "Alright, now that focus training is over, onto the next: I want the two of you to spar with each other, using the practice weapons but at the same time to not use your aura."

"Not use our Aura? Is that even possible?" Weiss asked, surprised. She remembered her lessons from Raven and never once had she mentioned something like this.

"It is extremely rare, but I have fought people who can cut straight through Auras. It's one of the reasons why I wear armor. But there is also ammo that can do the same thing, so even my armor isn't good enough to stop it. Once again, it's very rare to come across, but people who have money will do, or buy, just about anything," Raven answered, trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible.

 _ **Flashback**_

Raven had just returned from a long mission, sighing lightly as she saw the mail that had piled up on the floor as she was gone for a month. She had let the landlord know she was going to be away on a mission and that she would pay any bills once she returned. However, seeing a note in-between all the bills caused her to gasp lightly in surprise. Dropping all the other letters back into the pile, she hastily opened the letter and started to read. Once she was done, a few tears were running down her face. Hastily wiping them away, she read the letter again.

 _Rae,_

 _If you are reading this letter, then something out of my control happened…though I have a feeling that Tom might be at fault, especially since his hatred for Faunus has only grown since the White Fang have started targeting him. If I don't make it…I want you to take care of my kitten, please._

~ _Cal_

Cal knew what Raven had gone through before coming to join her in the frigid land that was Atlas. But…this was Cal here. Raven knew without a shadow of a doubt that her friend wouldn't ask her to do something like that without good reason. And it sounded like without her there, she was worried about her daughter. Sighing lightly, she opened the door once again and headed out, creating a portal once she was outside.

Stepping out of the portal which deposited her just outside the mansion that Cal and Tom, now Thomas again, lived in, Raven made her way up to the imposing gates before pressing the buzzer. When asked, she gave her name and reason for visiting: to speak to Thomas about Cal and her passing. Assuming that she was clear for entry as the gates opened, she walked inside. As she headed towards the front door, the ravenette noticed the multiple new defense systems that Thomas had in place and let out a soft sigh. Apparently the rumors of Thomas having problems with the White Fang were true after all…

Getting to the door, Raven rang the doorbell. As a camera came out, she waited patiently as the camera focused on her for a few seconds before going back into the hole that it came from. Once that happened, several locks disengaged before the door opened. Seeing a few mechanized guards standing in the hallway with their weapons poised, Raven had to mentally sweatdrop. Apparently Thomas forgot what the term 'overkill' meant.

"Stand down," Thomas ordered as they did exactly that; however, they didn't leave the room just yet and wouldn't do so unless he gave the order.

"Thomas, you do know what overkill means, right?" Raven finally asked, getting a soft chuckle from him.

"I know, but with the White Fang out there targeting me and my company can you blame me?" he asked in response causing Raven to shrug lightly. "But enough about that, especially since I doubt you're here to hear about my business and its problems."

"You're right, I'm not. I heard about Cal…and she left me a note."

"A…note?" Thomas asked, having a feeling that he would not like where this was heading. Then again, little that happened recently was something that he enjoyed.

"Yes, you see, she asked me to look after her dear daughter, whom, if you'll _remember_ , was yours as well. Now, do you happen to know where she is?" Raven asked before seeing Thomas staying silent, as if he was stalling and coming up with a lie. But why would he of all people have to lie? Unless…

"Thomas Schnee, what did you do?" she asked while glaring at the man in front of him.

"Nothing that you, yourself, haven't done before Raven," Thomas responded, not realizing that was the **wrong** thing to say.

"Nothing that I haven't…" Raven started to repeat, wondering exactly what he meant for a few seconds before quickly realizing what he was saying. Her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Thomas. My friend is dead. Please tell me you did **not** kick your own daughter out of this house," she said, getting her answer as the company owner stayed silent. "You did, didn't you?" she asked icily.

"Why are you so pissed off Raven? Didn't you do the same thing to your own daughter and family?" He asked before finding himself held by the cuff links and being lifted off the ground. The scary thing as he was pressed to the wall behind him was that _he didn't see Raven move_.

"You know nothing about me, you piece of scum," Raven hissed out. "And what you did and what I did are two completely different things. You kicked Weiss out and are making her fend for herself on the streets. I left my daughter with her father, someone who loves and cares for her, something that you _know nothing about!_ " She added in the same tone before letting him go, causing the man to fall to the ground and breathe in copious amounts of fresh air since his wind pipe was no longer being blocked. Not being able to stand being in the same room as the man in front of her, she quickly left via her semblance.

 _ **End Flashback**_

"Mother?" Weiss asked, worried when Raven stared into the distance for a few seconds before shaking her head. Seeing the concerned look on Weiss's face, she apologized before asking why they hadn't started sparring yet. "We were worried about you" was the response. Raven looked at the two of them before nodding lightly at that.

"Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Now go spar and remember, no Aura. That also means no nun-chucks Sun."

"What? Why?"

"Because you like to be reckless with your Aura when you use them. If this was a regular spar, I'd be okay with it, but this is a lesson to fight without your Aura up. I wouldn't be surprised if you forgot about that tidbit if you were fighting with them," Raven calmly replied before watching the two get into their respective fighting stances; idly noticing how strict it was. As the two sparred, Raven noticed several small things wrong with their fighting style. While Weiss was more cautious and took time with her strikes, Sun was all over the place and even though both fought with their hands, feet and weapons…it seemed like Sun was more comfortable using his body to augment his weapon then Weiss was. However, it was a reckless style and it showed since she was able to get more strikes in while dodging Sun's strikes.

' _Interesting…I'll talk to them about it later,'_ she thought while continuing to watch for a few more minutes. "Alright you two, that's enough!" she shouted, noticing that while Sun had more bruises on him than Weiss, the two of them were still smiling. "It seems like you both caught on quite quickly to not using your Aura during battle, which is good. And after dinner, I'll give you both my assessment, especially since I saw things that, if the fight had been real, would have caused you both to die." She said, being quite serious. "But right now, it's time for dinner. Wash up."

After dinner, Raven requested that the two of them come outside for a little bit. Having a feeling that this was more of a lecture about today's events rather than more training, both the cat and monkey Faunus did as was requested and followed her. Finishing up the last amount of the cleaning, Sun's father just watched them and smiled lightly, glad that the Huntress he had hired turned out to be such a good influence on his son. _'Still though…I'd like it if he wasn't always black and blue,'_ he thought before placing the towel on the back of a chair to dry out. After that was done, he retired to the study and started working on some paperwork, knowing that the two were in good hands.

Once the house was just barely on the horizon, Raven turned towards the other two. "Alright, this is far enough. Now then, while you two have an advantage of seeing in the dark and I can't, I want the both of you to come at me. I'm not going to draw my blade," she said, knowing that this wouldn't be fun for the two but it would be a better lesson; showing them their faults rather than telling them about them.

"Are you sure that's wise Raven?" Sun asked with a little amount of concern in his voice. It was two against one, and they _could_ see in the dark after all.

"Positive. Now draw your weapons and come at me," she ordered, deathly serious. And while she wouldn't pull out her odachi, she would definitely show them the flaws in their fighting style.

First she would show Weiss that while caution was a good thing to have in battle, it wasn't always the best thing to rely on. Sometimes one had to improvise in the heat of battle… something that the cat Faunus seemed to only do when her life was on the line. However, Raven wanted to hone that into being a constant, instead of her relying on stances and forms like she did earlier in the spar with Sun. Constantly moving inside of Weiss's defense, the brunette was merciless as she rapidly attacked Weiss with several palm strikes. Sensing the wind behind her moving, she jumped backwards as Sun tried hitting her from behind. With Sun being unable to stop his momentum, he was going to hit Weiss…or would have if she didn't subconsciously push a Shield Glyph in-between the weapon and herself.

' _Interesting…that was much quicker than she normally uses her Glyphs…'_ Raven thought before schooling her features while inwardly laughing at how Weiss was berating her partner for almost attacking her. While the two were distracted, Raven moved like a wraith towards them in hopes of getting a strike on them…only to be surprised when a new type of Glyph made itself known. _'Good, she's learning to experiment. But that will only get her so far…'_ Raven thought before disappearing in a portal created by her Semblance.

"Where did she go?" Sun commented after seeing Weiss tense up for half of a second. He didn't have to wait long for an answer as a portal opened up in-between them, Raven's left fist hitting Sun in the chest while Raven's right foot connected with Weiss's stomach. The surprise attack did exactly what Raven wanted it to do as both Faunus lost the grip on their weapons. With both being stunned for a few seconds, Raven quickly headed in Sun's direction. While she knew this was also a good time to further show Weiss her own weaknesses, she was going to give Weiss a light breather.

Sun quickly gained control of his body before maneuvering his body so that would land with his feet on the ground. However, Raven had taken that into account and came at him with a right hook, wanting him to take the bait. Seeing that he did by moving to the side and preparing to strike her in the chest with his elbow, he was unprepared for the small kick to his leg causing him to go unbalanced. Now at an advantage, Raven used Sun's momentum against him as she tossed him over her shoulder and onto the ground, following it with a punch to the ground where it would have connected with Sun's shoulder. And while it wouldn't have been broken…it would have left a nasty bruise.

Luckily for Sun, he rolled out of the way of the strike and got up into his natural stance. Smirking lightly as he gave the universal motion of 'come at me', Raven did just that before using a low kick to get Sun off of his game. Once that happened, she quickly chained it to a rising side kick but Sun was able to duck underneath it and got a low kick of his own on Raven by thrusting his left leg out. Unlike earlier with Sun, Raven didn't lose her balance as she had a feeling it was coming. From there, Sun went on the offensive, using light jabs in order to try and keep Raven at a distance while adding a straight punch or right hook in at various times while also mixing in kicks as well.

"Come on Sun, you aren't even trying!" Raven taunted as her eyes caught every overthrown punch that he was making. As it was, his jabs took a second too long to come back to his body and he was also over extending himself just a tad on his straight punches and right hooks. Though surprisingly Raven could find nothing wrong with his footwork. Surprised by the flip kick Sun did, the monkey Faunus let a light smirk grace his features if only for a second.

Apparently Sun didn't like it when he was goaded like that, something that Raven made a mental note of…

Noticing him rushing towards her, Raven quickly prepared herself for the 'second round' with the monkey Faunus. Seeing him preparing to use his right leg for a thrust kick, something that if it connected, would have driven the air out of the older female's lungs. Planting his right foot down and placing most of the weight on it in order to deliver the kick, Sun was somewhat surprised when Raven caught his foot. Before he could do anything; however, Raven pulled on the trapped foot causing him to lose balance. After that, he didn't remember much until he was on his back and on the ground, feeling sore but knowing that his Aura took most of the brunt of that assault.

"And dead," the brunette commented as her fist connected with the ground next to Sun's head. Once the indication of Sun being out of the fight for now, the older female teleported away and close to her charge. As she did so, she noticed that her Semblance was starting to take a toll on her body indicating that she was almost at her limit. Luckily for her, she had overshot where she was planning to teleport to and instead of fighting Weiss like she did with Sun…she didn't have to.

Creeping silently towards the cat Faunus, Raven could feel the Aura being drawn towards her weapon and frowned lightly. _'Does she really think she needs to use_ _ **that**_ _attack on me?'_ she thought to herself silently while noticing that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and frowned at that. When she got within distance, she wrapped an arm around Weiss's neck while she placed her other hand on the middle of Weiss's back. If she was an enemy to Weiss, then the white-haired Faunus would be paralyzed…or dead. Speaking of which:

"And you're dead, just like Sun." Raven said before Weiss stayed still for a few seconds before letting out a frustrated sigh. And with that, she let go of Weiss before the two children came together.

"Now then…can either of you guess what that was all about?" she asked, wanting to see if they could get the meaning behind the way she decimated the both of them.

"You wanted to relieve stress since it's your time of the month?" Sun asked, Weiss quickly hitting him with her tail for such a stupid comment. Raven was glad for that, especially since she could already feel her eye twitching at a comment such as that.

"No you idiot. If that was the case we'd be much more bruised than we are," the cat Faunus said as she took on a thinking pose, her tail flicking back from side to side lazily. Unbeknownst to Weiss, she looked cute while she was doing this. Before long though, it came to an end as she figured out what was going on. "You were showing us what flaws we had while in battle." She said confidently.

"Correct. Sun, while your footwork is, dare I say it, perfect, your fisticuffs need to be polished up. You're over extending yourself and any human opponent can easily counter you like how I did before 'killing' you." Raven said as Sun nodded, wondering how he could improve his punches. "That's not the only thing that you have going against you either Sun. You are far too reckless for your own good. If you go running into every battle without a plan, then you'll die quicker than a member of the White Fang against my blade."

"So…work on my punches and my recklessness?" Sun asked.

Raven nodded, knowing that would be the best for him to work on for right now. He could work on not being goaded some other time. As Sun was making notes about that, the older female looked at her charge. "You also need to work on those skills as well kitten. They aren't bad like when you first started, but you need to start using your hands and feet more than using Myrtenaster as a crutch. Also…I don't know what my friend taught you, but the Grimm are not going to wait for you to get into a favorable position to use an opening skill. Stop being so cautious and take some risks," Raven said. She needed to make sure Weiss wasn't going to get into the habit of setting something up only for it to cause her defeat…or worse, her death.

' _You know…this sounds oddly suspicious like you're starting to care for her. Are you sure you aren't going soft…?'_ And there it was again, that mental voice in the back of her head, coming from nowhere. What exactly was it trying to do…?

"That's enough for tonight though. Go back to the house and get ready for bed. I'll be lenient enough and give you tomorrow off," she said before the two did exactly that, leaving Raven alone with her thoughts.

 _ **Sun's House**_

"Is everything alright with your mom Weiss? She seemed a little off today…" Sun commented while sitting on the chair in front of a plain desk while Weiss was lying down on the bed in her room.

"Yeah, she did. I think it was because she remembered something about my fa…that man from before she found me," she responded, surprising Sun with the news.

"Wait, Raven adopted you? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it wasn't important doofus. But yeah…my biological father," Weiss started, spitting the word father out as if it was poison, "kicked me out of the house when I was four if I remember correctly. Raven looked for me for a whole year before finally finding me…"

"Well then…let's do something for her for a change! What do you say kitty cat?" he asked, dodging a thrown pillow at that. He knew that she didn't liked being called 'kitty cat' or any variation of that. The only reason Raven got away with it was because she raised the girl.

"Let's just get some sleep you buffoon. We are so going to be sore in the morning…" she commented, not realizing that events would spiral out of control. These events would sadly make them leave from one of the first places that Weiss could call home. And from the people she wouldn't mind calling brother and father…

Blushing at that thought, Weiss quickly shook her head to get rid of that thought. On that note though, Weiss did wonder what both herself and Sun could do for her adoptive mother before sleep overtook her.

 _ **The Next Day**_

As habit, Weiss woke up as soon as sunlight entered the room. Slowly opening her eyes, she rubbed the last amount of sleep out of them before silently wondering what to do for the day. However, she did have a feeling that Sun would know. He did live here after all…

With that thought in mind, she got out of bed and took a quick shower before getting dressed. _'Definitely lucky that my Aura healed those damages from last night, but mom was right…I need to work on my combat skills..._ ' she thought before almost bumping into Sun. "Morning," she said though could see that his bruises were worse than hers and still slowly healing. Then again, his Aura was still developing…it was one of the first things that both Weiss and Raven worked on when it came to the monkey Faunus. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was the pen put to the paperwork my dad does all the time…Ugh…" he muttered. Now he understood why Raven had suggested that they take the day off. "And I take it it's because your Aura Control is better than mine is why you're so chipper this morning?"

"That, and I took a shower. Your dad is lucky to have one of those from what I've heard…"

"Not really. Despite being in a desert, we have an Oasis nearby that we get our water from. You'd have to ask dad about the specifics though," Sun commented before walking by Weiss. Soon after, she could hear water running before heading to the kitchen.

"Mr. Wukong?"

"Ah, good morning Weiss. Your mother is out back, training." He said with a light sigh. Before Weiss could question the sigh, the older male continued. "If you ask me, she needs something other than just training all the time. Sure she takes care of you, and is training both you and my son…but there's more to life than just training. Don't tell her I said this, but I worry about her," he admitted as he continued cooking breakfast.

"I won't sir," Weiss said.

"Thank you." He said before asking Weiss to set the table. Nodding at the simple request, Weiss set out plates and silverware before asking if there was anything else she could do. "Actually I do have something for you and Sun to do, if you're interested," he said while catching the curiosity of the cat Faunus.

"Nothing too strenuous I hope," Sun commented as he came into the kitchen, wearing a simple white T-shirt and cargo shorts.

"Not at all. Just a simple shopping trip," his father replied before finishing making breakfast for the four of them. After the two finished eating, Mr. Wukong gave Sun a moderate amount of lien notes and a list.

 _ **Two Months Later**_

It had been two months since the day off that Raven gave to her students and seeing how it got the two of them working together, she had allowed more of them. It seemed as if they had also worked on the flaws that she went over with the both of them; Sun wasn't as reckless as before and Weiss was getting better at her hand-to-hand fighting. However, they weren't ready for what was about to come next.

"Well well well...look what the cat dragged in," Cinder purred out as Raven heard her voice. Seeing the black-haired female making her way towards the three, Raven quickly created a portal, knowing that this woman who wore a form fitting crimson dress was nothing but trouble…even if she didn't look like it.

"Weiss, Sun, go! This will take you back to the house!" Raven commanded, knowing that this wouldn't be pretty. Not only that, but she also knew that the two children weren't ready for an opponent of her caliber. Not yet.

"What about you?" Weiss asks, concerned.

"Don't worry about me, just go!" Raven commanded once more, the tone being more urgent than before, especially since this wasn't the first time she had met with this woman. Once Weiss and Sun enter the portal, Raven turned back towards Cinder who was making her way towards the ravenette.

"What do you want Cinder?" Raven asked in a bored tone, placing a hand on her odachi, ready to use it in an instant.

"What? Can't I just come by to see an old friend? It's been so long since last we met…" the crimson themed female asked, getting a light scowl from Raven in return. "Guess not. Last time we met, I did ask you a question and let you think about it until next we met. So... what do you say? You and the cat faunus joining my merry band of misfits?"

"Hm... How about a no?" Raven quickly replies, knowing that it would be useless to try and set up any of her portals like the last time, especially since the black beauty had a feeling this femme fatale already had a counter for such a technique.

Seeing Cinder rushing towards her, Raven quickly drew her Odachi, glad that she did after she heard it clang with something. Apparently her opponent was holding back last time they fought, though now she had a small problem on her hands: Cinder had a ranged attack; she did not. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let that deter her…slashing out once the woman was within range.

Cinder quickly summoned her two short swords to block the strike, sparks flying between the three swords. Pushing Raven's bigger sword off of her smaller blades, Cinder let out a small smirk as she got within her opponent's defense. However, she couldn't do much as she had to jump out of the way and avoid Raven's jab.

Before Cinder could do anything with the distance gained, Raven was quickly upon her. Using the flat side of her blade, Raven hit Cinder in the ribs. Normally this would have ended anyone else due to the damage, but the woman in red was thankful enough to have woven Earth-based Dust into her clothing.

' _It still stings though'_ Cinder thought as she held onto her ribs, knowing that her Aura was quickly going to work on that. Nevertheless, she knew she was going to feel that in the morning. Channeling Aura, she activated the Fire Dust that she kept on her person at all times and sent out three fireballs towards Raven. Thinking quickly, Raven channeled Aura into Munin and let out three quick slashes, cutting each of the fireballs in half. She then had to use the blade in order to defend herself from Cinder's two short swords, thankful for the longer range that Munin provided. Quickly using that range to her advantage, Raven swiped at Cinder. Unfortunately, Cinder was able to dart out of the way, using her quickness to avoid any damage.

' _Damnit, she's faster than last time,'_ Raven thought to herself, resisting the urge to growl. It was the one reason that Cinder had gotten away last time…though last time that last swipe would have made contact with skin. Mentally shrugging at that, she brought her sword up at the last minute to block Cinder's strike, taking one hand off her blade to punch Cinder in the face. However, Cinder grabbed the fist and used it to bicycle kick Raven in the same spot that Raven was aiming for. Not expecting it, Raven was flung back, her body hitting the unforgiven sand. Rolling backwards, she evaded the axe kick that Cinder followed up with, causing a burst of sand to billow out around her.

Closing her eyes, Raven placed her sword back into its scabbard. She wished that she had Dust powder stored within so that she could coat Munin with it, but they had needed the money for other things at the time. Shaking the thought away, she waited until she heard something behind her. Turning her body, she quickly took her sword from its sheathe, powerfully striking Cinder while also hearing something break. Opening her eyes, she saw that Cinder was bleeding along her left arm and both of her weapons were missing.

"Damnit, I forgot you were a master of that Quickdraw style…" Cinder cursed, holding her bleeding arm, quickly using some of her Fire Dust to sear the wound shut. It wasn't the best way to heal the wound, but it would do for now. Seeing Raven speeding towards her, she focused her dwindling Aura to power her Semblance one more time to quickly craft her two swords back into existence. They wouldn't survive this strike; she knew that…but it would be more beneficial to take another wound than outright dying. _'Roman's daughter would be beneficial right about now…'_ Cinder thought as Raven closed in. Timing it just perfectly, the swords came into existence just as Raven swung her blade, aiming for a kill strike by swinging it horizontally at chest level. Smirking at Raven's dumbfounded look, she grabbed one of the shards, wincing lightly as it bit into her skin (though no blood came out due to her Aura), and stabbed it into Raven's shoulder, deep enough not only to draw blood, but to make Raven momentarily lose control of her weapon.

"You've…improved," Raven grunted out before grabbing the shard of glass and quickly pulling it out before throwing it to the ground where it dissolved into nothingness. A line of blood starting dripping down her arm, and Raven knew that she had to end this. Quickly. Channeling her Aura into the sheathe of Munin, it started rotating before settling on the teal-blue color in the rotating barrel. This was an untested attack, just like Weiss's _Lancer_ Technique (as she had so dubbed it) when she was fighting those Garantulas months ago…but it would definitely be something that Cinder wouldn't see coming. _'Though it would be better if I had Dust to augment it…'_ she thought before placing Munin back into its sheathe, letting it work its magic by coating the blade with her Aura.

' _Whatever she's planning won't end well…'_ Cinder thought as she saw Raven going back into her stance for that Iiaido strike from earlier. Even if it probably wouldn't be as powerful or as fast as before, it would still hurt. Rushing to make sure her opponent couldn't get whatever it was that she was planning off, Cinder didn't realize that that was exactly what Raven wanted…

A few seconds later, she was on the ground, a large amount of blood was pooling on the sand around her _and she had no idea what happened._ Slowly moving her hand to the wound, she placed the last of her Fire Dust onto her hand and carefully used her Aura to ignite it. Before closing the wound with her Dust, she took a piece of her dress into her mouth and bit down. At the same time that she bit down, she seared the wound shut. However, unlike the wound on her arm…this would leave a nasty straight scar right underneath her chest.

' _Damn…what…was that?'_ she thought before slowly tilting her head up and noticing a slight distortion where she had assumingly been hit. It seemed as if the air was collapsing in on itself, but only in that straight line. A few steps away from the distortion, she could see Raven panting while on one knee. Apparently, whatever it was also took a lot out of her as well. _'Well…at least I won't be dying today,'_ Cinder thought to herself as she laid there, wondering just how to get away, not realizing that answer was about to make itself known.

"Ugh...so this is where you were? If I wasn't tasked with bringing you back woman, I might just leave you here," a male voice said from above her position. For some reason, he had heard a voice telling him where Cinder was, who she was and that she'd be hurt. He was also told that he shouldn't bother attacking anyone else in the vicinity since apparently the voice had plans for her as well. Not really understanding it, but having nothing better to do…he decided to follow the voice.

"W-wait!" Raven shouted out, trying to get up off the ground, using Munin as a crutch in order to stand. The male turned towards and 'tsked' lightly, so wishing he could go against the orders of 'that voice' but had a feeling it would be better if he just did as he was told.

"Your life has been spared today my dear, but don't push your luck," he said before closing the hatch wondering where to go next. All he knew was that it wasn't here.

 _ **With Raven**_

"Damnit!" she growled out before realizing that her Aura had recovered enough so that she could make her way back towards the house. Holding her arm lightly, Raven winced in pain as blood dripped slowly from the wound on her shoulder. Granted there were many other cuts and bruises that littered her body and clothes, but that was one of the worse ones. Limping back to the house, she was mad at herself for letting that bitch find them after so long.

" _You were so careful too..."_ that inner voice said mockingly, but Raven paid it no heed at the moment. Making her way back to the house, she headed inside as Sun's father and the two children quickly flock to her.

"Mom!" Weiss comments, worry lacing her voice.

"After I'm healed, we need to go Weiss," was all that Raven replied with, getting a look of shock from Weiss.

"But...who was that lady?" Weiss asked, Sun looking on curious as well which caused Raven to sigh lightly before telling the both of them that she would explain as she was being bandaged up. Another month passed as Raven healed up; the wounds that she gave to Cinder being even worse than the ones that were given to her. In the meantime, both Weiss and Sun had come up with ideas on how to train themselves...just in case that woman came back. (They didn't know; however, that wasn't going to be the case)

"Are you sure we can't change your mind Raven?" Sun's father asked as the cat faunus stood by her side with a bag hanging off her shoulder. Getting a shake of the head, the older monkey Faunus sighed lightly before nodding in understanding.

"It was fun while it lasted and I thank you for housing us for so long, but we really do need to get going," she said before handing him a few pieces of paper that were rolled up. Seeing the questioning look in Sun's eyes, she let out a light smirk. "I've seen what you and my daughter," she ignored Weiss's grin at that as she continued, "have been doing while I've been recovering. I've come up with a few ideas of my own that you're welcome to try out as long as your father supervises."

 **End Chapter**

Dragon and Sword Master: Hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter and my rendition of Vacuo and how Sun is like before we meet him in the show. I also hoped that you like what I did with Raven, both her fighting style and her 'teaching style' among the youths.

Raven: Speaking of which, what is with this inner voice I have?

Dragon and Sword Master: It's your conscience…maybe. It's trying to make you wonder why you picked Weiss over Yang and Tai. Granted we have our lovely Ruby Rose because of it, but still.

Raven: Ah, I see.

Dragon and Sword Master: There's also the theory going on the internet that your brother is Ruby's father and not Tai…

Raven: Wait, what?!


	3. Past Problems in the Icy Tundra

Dragon and Sword Master: Sorry for the delay folks, with the passing of Chester Bennington aka Lead Singer / Vocalist for Linkin Park, I didin't want to post things for a while. That coupled with the Crash Bandicoot N'Sane Trilogy that came out a couple weeks ago (plus other personal stuff that I don't want to get into) there's been a slight delay between this chapter and last. Here's hoping you enjoy the chapter!

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 ** _Chapter 3: Past Problems in the Icy Tundra Part 1_**

One year has passed since both Raven and Weiss left the sands of Vacuo behind. During that time, they travelled to several places while protecting the citizens from various Grimm, asking for lodging in exchange. However, it wasn't only the Grimm that they dealt with, but also the White and Red Fangs as well. Though, it was mostly Raven who dealt with them and Weiss helping only when necessary. However, if they ever came across members of the Red Fang, then Weiss wasn't allowed to help no matter what due to how experienced they were.

Though they never stayed longer than a week or two before moving on. Almost thirteen now, Weiss's skills had evolved; the technique she dubbed _Lancer_ used to take almost all her Aura, but now it only took thirty percent.

And while her close quarter combat skills were still a weak point to the Faunus, Weiss also improved in that area as well. Through intensive training with her semblance, she gained the ability to summon her Shield and Strengthening Glyphs with just a thought and was getting close to doing the same with her Alarm and Haste Glyphs as well. However, what surprised them the most during her training was when Weiss summoned a clone for the first time, or as Raven called it, a Duplicate.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _Flashback_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

While Raven was always a light sleeper, it quickly dawned on the woman that Weiss was not. While the Alarm Glyphs were a great invention on Weiss's part to get around this flaw, Raven knew that they weren't perfect. With that thought in mind, Raven started training Weiss with simple things first: sticks, rocks and other small things to force her to wake up or receive a small bruise.

Eventually though, Weiss got into a habit of moving her Alarm Glyphs closer to her person and experimenting with her Aura, such as saturating the air around her with it, among other things. This caused the teenager to become more aware while she slept, which made Raven up the ante. Before long, it evolved into dodging and countering Munin as well as small objects. Obviously, this didn't happen every night since that would defeat the purpose of what Raven was trying to teach Weiss: being more alert out in the wilderness.

Currently, Weiss was rolling away from a slash of Munin, quickly getting out of her sleeping bag thanks to the warning from her Alarm Glyph. Quickly drawing Myrtenaster, she blocked the overhead swing, relying on her Aura to negate the recoil from the two blades. The young girl focused on her semblance before a strength glyph appeared beneath her, turning a dull red color as it was activated. She then started to work on creating a Haste Glyph to increase her speed but felt Raven appear behind her via her Portal Semblance. Scrambling out of the way, both Raven and Weiss stopped as they stared at the Aura construct coming from the unfinished Haste Glyph Circle.

"Um…hello?" the lightly glowing Weiss clone said/asked, unsure as to why the two were staring at her.

Raven looked at the construct before looking back at Weiss and then back to the construct once again. "Well…that's interesting, a Duplicate." Raven commented, somewhat surprised as Weiss worked on dismissing the clone. Since she had usually seen Weiss use her Glyphs to aid her in their spars, she had assumed that her mother's semblance had not been passed on, which was possible considering who she was: the hybrid of one of her few friends that weren't her teammates and one of the wealthiest men alive. It was also said that the Schnee's semblance was passed down from generation to generation. Maybe because she was a hybrid of the two that she gained powers from both sides of the family?

"Duplicate?"

"Your mother could make a clone of herself. The reason she settled on the name Duplicate instead of something else was because she could only create one, no matter how hard she tried to create more. It just wouldn't happen," Raven explained

"Then...I wonder how I have two..." Weiss murmured after finally dismissing the duplicate. Apparently, she wasn't quiet enough as Raven heard her quite well.

"That is a very good question, yet we might never find the answer for it. Either way kitten, it just means that we have something else for you to work on," Raven said amused, especially with how the young woman moaned lightly in dismay at the prospect.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _End Flashback_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

"I will be needing your help to take care of this particular Grimm Weiss, don't experiment and just use Glyphs that you already know. If need be, summon a Duplicate with a Shield Glyph," Raven said as the young feline Faunus nodded at that. That was something else the two of them had discovered: Weiss could combine her parent's semblances and have the Duplicate take on a special effect, depending on which Glyph was used.

Weiss nodded at that before asking what particular Grimm they were going to be facing. Once asked, Raven explained what they were about to fight. "A Geist is a rare wraith-like Grimm that can inhabit inanimate objects and using them as an extension of themselves. Luckily for us, I was able to procure some Burn Dust from the last town we were at," Raven said before giving Weiss a fourth of the amount while placing the rest into Munin's Dust Revolving Canister. Weiss copied what Raven did, though not as sure of herself when it came to using the various types of Dust. Something that she knew would change sooner rather than later.

"Support role as usual to start, and then try to survive," Raven said before keeping her guard up as they walked towards the last spot that the Geist had been seen. Seeing Weiss nod, she placed Munin back into its sheathe before drawing it out again, the blade now coated in a fiery glow before quickly jumping out of the way, a dead tree smashing where she was standing just moments before "So, there you are…" she muttered before running towards it, jumping up and cutting the tree limb that it was currently using as a leg. Seeing it down, Raven tried going for the face; however, she had to use a portal to escape from the Golem's right fist. Seeing a shadow-like sigil appear from the right leg as a shadow limb burst forth, Raven growled once it took control of some of the loose stonework in the area, effectively healing itself and standing once more. Dodging the swipes and punches of the 'Golem', Raven tried thinking of something that could go through the stone.

Before she could do anything else, three fireballs blasted the golem in the face, creating small scorch marks on its arms as it used the dead lumber to protect its face. However, the lumber did catch on fire before quickly going up in flames due to the dead trees. For once, both Weiss and Raven were glad for the environment.

Two more shadow glyphs appeared at the side of the things shoulder blades, once again healing the Grimm as he grabbed more suitable material for the fight that it was in. Silently thanking Weiss for the distraction, she changed the Dust Canister in her sheathe to the green colored canister. This was a reward from an earlier mission in the year: a container full of wind dust. Placing the blade back into the sheathe, she felt a light drain of her Aura as the two energies mixed, her Aura creating a 'shell' around the blade so that the excess energy wouldn't hurt her. Taking the energy infused blade out, she panted lightly due to how taxing it was to keep control of the Blade of Wildfire as Weiss had so dubbed it when they were talking about it all those months ago after a lesson of Dust Types. _'Still too long creating the protective shell,'_ Raven thought before seeing Weiss pelting it with icicles, keeping just out of the reach of the golem's attacks. _'Must have used Haste on herself…'_ she thought before jumping back into the fight, cutting the golem's arm off at the joint before joining back up with Weiss.

"Damn it, this isn't working," she commented as the brunette watched the Geist create another sigil and regain the 'arm' that Raven just cut off. "Any ideas Weiss?" she asked as Weiss thought for a few seconds.

"I might have one, but it's a little reckless." Weiss admitted while waiting for her mother to ask what it was. Once she did so, Weiss went into detail about her plan: First she would summon a Duplicate with enhanced strength. That Duplicate would take out a leg. And as it crumbled to one knee, Weiss would take out the second leg with a _Lancer_. After falling flat on its face, she told Raven what she would have to do: use a _Blade of Wildfire_ in order to take off its remaining two limbs. Once that was done, she would be able to pierce the face with another _Lancer,_ but after that would be unable to fight anymore. They had to make this work, or else the consequences would be dire.

"Even if it doesn't, it's better than what I was doing," Raven commented. "I'll go ahead and distract it while you summon a Duplicate, and after that we'll go with your plan. Let's hope it works," Raven said with a nod as Weiss nodded as well before focusing. A few seconds later, a clone of Weiss appeared with crimson eyes. The Duplicate's fur and hair were still tinted a baby blue color, whereas the original Weiss's tail fur and hair were as white as snow. Raven believed that it was the fact that her parents Semblances had fused together that it would never be a perfect duplicate.

"You know the plan Snow?" she asked her double before getting a nod in confirmation. "Alright then," Weiss said before both she and Snow shot a fireball into the sky, the indication for Raven that the plan was going to start as Snow channeled her borrowed Aura into her Myrtenaster. As the tip glowed a soft blue, Snow thrusted the rapier out, using her lancer to hit the Grimm's leading leg, causing it to falter before it crumbled into nothing. However, that too was dashed as Weiss cut out the other leg out from underneath it. Before the Geist could reorient itself and regrow its legs, Raven appeared out of one of her portals and used combination of the _Blade of Wildfire_ and her _Iaido Strike_ , effectively cutting off both arms at the shoulder.

Hearing it yell in pain, Weiss flinched for only half of a second before unleashing her own _Lancer,_ causing its head to crumble, just like how they planned. With it being in so much pain at once, the Geist couldn't concentrate and draw in new material to renew its limbs in order to continue the fight. Once that was done, the entirety of its form crumbled as the Geist reappeared, looking like a wraith with its tattered cloak. With the true body now exposed, it tried escaping. However, Weiss was unable to do anything about it since she had used the last of her energy in that _Lancer_.

"Snow, Stop it!" Raven ordered as the summoned girl nodded before using her limited Aura to create a glyph, its blue nature quickly shooting several waves of icicles at it, two of them hitting it in the eyes, quickly destroying it. After Weiss was able to recollect enough energy to move, she dismissed Snow after thanking her for her services.

"I still don't get why you do that. She isn't truly alive you know," Raven said before sheathing her sword.

"It just feels right," Weiss replied before getting a light shrug from Raven.

"Alright. Let's head back," Raven stated as Weiss nodded in agreement. After that, she had a small surprise lined up for Weiss, though she didn't know if the girl was going to like the idea of ice skating or not. It would be interesting to see…

 _I bet Yang would like to try too…_ the mental voice said, but Raven just ignored it, something that she was getting better at every single day. Though it was still there…and that worried her, especially since she thought it would have been gone by now…

"Mother?" Weiss asked, snapping Raven out of her thoughts.

"Sorry." Raven said as both human and Faunus went through the portal; quickly returning to the entrance of a small village just outside of Mantle's protection. Once they were back in the village, both women headed towards the hotel. However, Raven noticed something that caused her to scowl. Apparently, her brother was paying her a visit…

"Weiss…you still practicing your singing?" she asked, getting a surprised look from the kitten.

"Just because you put up privacy and alarm glyphs doesn't mean I can't hear you. Still though, you're quite good," Raven said as Weiss continued staring at Raven, as if she gained a second head or something.

"What? I'm not allowed to compliment you or something?" she asked.

"No…it's just that I'm not use to you giving me one is all," Weiss admitted with a light blush before telling Raven that she would be at the park. Nodding at that, Raven sighed before heading to talk to her brother. She just knew she wasn't going to like this and would need a drink afterwards.

"So the rumors were true, my sister has been doing mercenary work the last couple of years and had another kid," Qrow said, amused as he took his foot off the wood that he was using to prop himself up as Raven got within hearing distance. Wearing his usual gray dress shirt and black pants, the only thing that was protecting him from the cold was the red cloak that he wore.

"What do you want Qrow?" she asked, not even dignifying a response to her brother's comment about Weiss. Not only was it none of his business what she did with her life; she didn't care what her older brother thought about honoring her friend's dying wish. However, that would change with his next comment.

"So, you ditch your own kid at birth just to pick up a stray?" he asked before feeling steel touching his Adams apple. Pushing the tip of the blade away from his throat, the black-haired man let out a light smirk.

"I'm getting tired of your face brother. I hate repeating myself: what do you want? And I guess I should ask how you found me, so I know what to do to avoid seeing you again…or Weiss meeting you for that matter. I don't want her picking up your bad habits."

"Funny, Tai said the same thing about Ruby and Yang. And that's the reason I'm here Sis," Qrow said before reaching into his jacket and opening his flask, taking a light swig of his alcoholic beverage. "Yang almost got herself, and her sister, killed five years ago while looking for you. It was pure luck that I was able to save them," he said while narrowing his eyes at his sister, especially since he found out that the rumor of her running around with a Faunus child was true. "And she still hasn't given up."

"And?"

"You should go talk to her Raven, at least explain to your daughter what you are doing and why you are doing it. And if you can't, tell me the reason why you're doting on some stray kitten instead of your own flesh and blood," Qrow said with a tone of disappointment in his voice, as well as a little bit of anger.

"I can't."

"Can't…or won't? Just go talk to her, even for a little bit. You don't have to tell her who you are, just use a disguise or something to talk to Yang."

"I can't…not yet." Raven said before Qrow got a scowl on his face and taking Hugin off his back. He had a feeling that he'd have to spar with her to get the answer. But he'd have to ask this question all the same:

"And why, pray tell, can you not see your own flesh and blood? What in the hells is stopping you Raven?!" Qrow shouted, angry at what his sister was telling him, not realizing that he was drawing attention to them due to his anger.

"That is none of your business…brother," she responded. Her tone was cold, crisp and distant before creating a portal and walking through it. And just like that, her good mood was gone and all plans about how to spend her free time went up in smoke. Once she was gone, Qrow let out a growl of frustration, forgetting how stubborn his sister could be…

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _With Weiss_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

Weiss quickly found herself at the park, a little surprised at how quickly she found it…even with some dirty looks because of who she was. Not wanting anymore trouble, she found herself a clearing where no one would bother her. Smiling softly, Weiss began to practice her singing, wanting to make sure that she didn't lose her talent. Not only that, but it was one of the few things she could practice on her own. Though…she did kinda wish there was some way to keep in touch with her friend Sun. She was so in tune with what she was doing that she didn't hear the boy from behind her. It was only when he pulled her tail, causing her pitch to go up in volume, that she knew someone had interfered with her private moment. Looking back, she saw a white-haired male dressed like a butler, wearing a blue blazer and a black tie along with a matching dark blue pair of dress pants.

"I told you this place was for humans only; didn't you hear me, you cat?" the boy exclaimed before a glyph came between the two and pushed him away. "H-how are you doing that?!" he asked as Weiss wrapped her tail around herself, not wanting him to pull on it again.

"Doing what? And how did you get in here anyways? I put glyphs up to stop anyone from coming in," Weiss replied, asking her own set of questions. "And who are you anyways?" she asked as an afterthought, anger in her voice.

"I should be asking you that! Who are you, and how can you use the family's semblance like that?!" he asked, clearly annoyed, especially since she hadn't answered any of his earlier questions. There was only one way that she could use the semblance of the Schnees like that…but…he only had one older sibling, Winter. And father would have never had a Faunus child; he hated their kind just as much as he did. Right?

"I asked you first," Weiss commented, starting to get annoyed with this child in front of her. It seemed like he was extremely biased against Faunus…just like a lot of other places here. It was the main reason why it took them so long to get work and a place to stay.

"Fine. My name is Whitley Schnee. Now your name, Cat?" Whitley asked with a sneer on his face. He didn't know why the name mattered, especially since he wasn't going to call her anything but 'Cat', but he was curious. Plus…there were those Glyphs that this Faunus girl was using.

"Weiss. Weiss Sanara," she replied. Though after hearing the name Schnee, she understood why this boy was being so racist: he was a scion of the person who threw her out when she was four-years-old

"Sanara…why does that name sound familiar?"

"My mother used to work for your father. The same person that supposedly makes his Faunus workers work longer hours than his human workers, as well as let his human workers get a little more money than them. At least that's what the rumors say," she added while seeing Whitley getting red as she continued speaking before finally exploding in anger.

"It isn't true! Those animals…they deserve everything that they get. They attacked mother, almost killed Winter… they've done nothing but make my life miserable!" he growled out, defending his beliefs.

"Oh boo hoo, so a group of Faunus attacked your home. At least you have one. Mom and I don't even have that, we just wander around from village to village, doing whatever job that comes our way," she ranted before walking away, not wanting to start anything. However, her mood was now ruined thanks to him. _'Hmph, like father like son I see,'_ she thought, not realizing the danger that came from standing up to the popular kid. Of course it wouldn't be until later, but Weiss didn't need to know that…

Once Weiss returned to the hotel, she quickly made her way to the room. Once inside, the Faunus girl flopped onto one of the comfy beds before letting out a soft purr at how soft it was. Turning her head to the side, she saw Raven…in nothing but her bathing suit. "M-mom!" Weiss yelled, quickly closing her eyes and looking away. However, she could already feel the heat rising to her cheeks, completely embarrassed.

"Yes Weiss?" Raven asked.

"Is there a point as to why you're naked?!"

"I have a better question for you kitten. Why are you embarrassed? We're both females after all," she commented as she answered Weiss's question with a question of her own. The older female was hoping to distract her; however, it didn't work.

"That's not the point! And who was that person you met with before I went to the park? " she asked, still annoyed by her younger step-sibling. It was extremely infuriating since she was interrupted from enjoying one of her pastimes by a remembrance from the past.

"No one important," she said before getting dressed, since apparently it was bothering Weiss. "Why do you even ask?"

"Because usually you don't mind me talking to them either. Which means it was someone you didn't want me to meet. So again, who was he?" she asked, staring at her in a way that told Raven she wasn't going to be getting out of answering.

"Fine, you win. It was my brother, Qrow. He's been keeping tabs on a few things that I didn't really want him to keep track of," she admitted with a light sigh. And it was technically true…she wanted to know about Tai and her daughter to make sure that they were safe, but that was it. She didn't need him to comment on her decisions…

"Why didn't you want me to meet him?" She asked, curious. Noticing that her mother bit back the first retort, she settled on telling Weiss that he had several unhealthy habits that he didn't want Weiss to pick up. "Alright. Then if we're done here…can we just get out of here? I'm sick of this place," she commented, her form was still facing away from the naked female.

Raven rose an eyebrow at this, wondering what was going on. Usually Weiss wasn't like this... "Weiss…what's wrong?" she asked softly, concerned. This was not like the cat Faunus that she had come to care for as a daughter…

"I…met my younger brother. He has the same views as _that_ man…" Weiss responded softly, repeating herself once again when Raven requested it since she whispered it. "And I have this feeling that he's going to try and get back at me. Not only am I his bastard sister, or a Faunus, but what is most likely the worst crime, to him anyways, is that I humiliated him in public."

"So, you think he's going to retaliate in some way, don't you?" Raven asked, although she already had an idea as to what the answer would be. Seeing that Weiss hadn't answered yet, she looked over at the girl and saw that she had fallen asleep. Sighing lightly, she knew that she would be okay… at least for the time being. Deciding to not risk the chance of waking her, she moved into the hallway of the hotel, "Alright brother…I guess I am a little curious as to what happened…" she muttered. Opening her scroll and scrolling down her limited contact list, Raven found Qrow's number and pressed the send button.

"Sis?" Qrow's voice came through the device in her hands, his tone inquisitive. Then again, the last time that she had called was when decided to leave her family behind…

"Yeah, it's me. You said that you saved Yang and her sister?" she asked, curiosity laced in her tone. "Who exactly is her sister and who's the mother?" Raven asked, for once being curious about her family in the last fifteen years.

"You know…I shouldn't answer that due to how you've been dicking around with that Faunus, but I'll cut you a break since you called me. Yang's sister is named Ruby Rose, and yes, she is the daughter of your partner: Summer Rose. And I did. You want to hear the details?" he asked, assuming that was the case.

"And if I did?" she asked defensively.

"Then I say that it's better to meet in person so I can tell you what your stubborn daughter did. That stubbornness was something she definitely gained from you," he replied. "There's a bar a few blocks from the hotel that you're staying at. Meet me in fifteen," he said before hanging up. Raven sighed as she pressed the end button on her scroll as well before rubbing her temples.

' _Well it's about time that you took an interest in your biological daughter…'_ her consciousness said before Raven ignored the voice as usual. Then again, it wasn't all that hard nowadays...

Deciding that she had time to kill, Raven decided on walking to the bar that Qrow told her about, not surprised at all that he wanted to meet in a bar of all places. During her walk, she started reminiscing about Mistral. While there were more bad memories than good, there were still some great moments that she had here…

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _Flashback_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

"Come on Rae, stop being such a stick in the mud!" Tai commented before ducking underneath a thrown snowball. "And where are you taking us anyways?" he asked as his partner just shook her head at that.

"Come on Tai, you know sis doesn't like that nickname," Qrow said as he tried playing peacekeeper between the two budding lovebirds.

"No, she just doesn't like the pet name I came up with for her," he joked. Knowing that this was true, he wasn't paying attention to Raven…who hit him straight between the eyes with a snowball. Wiping the snow off his face, he saw the smirking façade of one Raven Branwen.

"Having trouble keeping up Tweety?" she asked, getting a light laugh out of the white-themed leader. However, that was soon short lived as she ate a snowball herself.

"Snowball fight!" Tai shouted before diving behind a bench, blocking all "shots" from Qrow and his sister. It was a good thing that they were in the park at the time…

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _End Flashback_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

Raven let a small smile grace her face, surprised that she had already walked to the bar while strolling down memory lane.

"Now that's a rare sight to see," Qrow quipped as he saw her smiling like that.

"Shut up," she responded. "Anyways, why did you want me to meet with you here instead of just telling me what happened over the lines?" she asked, curious as Qrow took a small swig from his flask. Screwing the top back on and placing it in his coat pocket, the young man turned and looked at his sister, deadly serious.

"Because what I'm about to tell you isn't common knowledge. If people found out who I was…"

"You mean like how I was found out by Cinder?" she asked.

"Exactly. But that isn't truly important right now," he responded before placing a hand up to stop any response. "Anyways, you came here for a story. I was just getting back from a mission when I saw a speck of blonde hair. Following it, I saw that it was your little girl pulling a wagon. She couldn't have been more than five years old at the time Raven…and yet here she was pulling Ruby in a little red wagon."

"All because she got a rumor of where I was?" she asked, getting a nod from her brother.

"Exactly. If I was even a second later…I don't want to think about what the consequences would be," he admitted. "I'm not trying to guilt trip you here sis, but that wouldn't have happened if you at least talked to her. Explain why you're staying away from her, her sister and their father," Qrow said honestly. "If it helps, I can watch over the kid for you if you want. It'd be a good bonding experience…"

"Not on your life, Qrow. I would never forgive myself, nor would Calypso, if I let her pick up any of your habits."

"Name one bad habit."

"You're a dr-"

"Besides being a drunk," Qrow commented.

"Skirt chaser for one. You intentionally antagonize people that annoy you, bit of a smartass, and if you put your mind to it, you can be a sneaky bastard when you want to be. And that's just what comes from the top of my mind, brother." Raven replied. "I'm sure I can think of others if you want," she added.

"No, you've made your point. I get it. But my offer still stands Rae...I'll look over the kid if that's the only thing that's stopping you from seeing them," Qrow said, being honest as Raven thought it over for a few seconds.

"If she gains any habits of yours…"

"Don't worry sis, she won't. Promise." Qrow said before starting to head inside to get a drink before Raven grabbed his arm. Looking back, she saw the look that she gave him; the one when she was either completely serious or pissed off. "Yes?"

"If I do this, you don't hound me or Weiss again unless I call you. And if we do meet up again for whatever reason, you don't ask if I've gone back to visit, alright? Whether I go on my own or not is my decision. Understand?"

"I got it Rae. Now can I go in and get my drink? I promise to be sober for when I meet your brat. First impressions and all that," he said before wrestling his arm out of his sister's grasp and heading into the bar. Before Raven could head back to the hotel, she got a text on her scroll saying, "Two hours"

Raven assumed he meant two hours between him drinking and meeting up with Weiss. She just hoped that this wouldn't be a bad idea. Heading back to the hotel, Raven still wondered if this was still good for Qrow, Weiss and herself. Weiss did have to put up with her younger brother after all. Making her way to their room, the young woman saw that Weiss was up and reading something.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _Two Hours Later_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

"Are you sure this won't become a catastrophe?" Weiss asked for what seemed like the tenth time in the last five minutes. And once again, Raven replied that it was probably not, but that it was also the best way to stop Qrow from bugging them both …hopefully.

"With the way that you describe him though…this sounds like a disaster," Weiss commented before hearing a knock on the door.

"Sis, it's me. Open up," Qrow requested, his weapon resting comfortably on his back, though he was starting to get stared at. And while he didn't mind staring at beautiful women, he didn't like being stared at himself…due to his job. Raven did as he requested, staring at her brother for a few seconds before he walked in.

"Alright, so I should be back soon. Make sure that Qrow doesn't take you to any bars or brothels. If he does, you have my permission to use _Lancer_ or that other Aura technique you're working on. But try not to cause trouble for him, please Weiss?"

"Yes mom," Weiss exasperated. "I'll try not causing trouble for the doofus," she commented as Qrow narrowed his eyes lightly at the term, but didn't say anything about it. Raven sighed, knowing that was the best she was going to get from the feline.

"And you," Raven said before turning to her brother. "know what I expect. Anything deviating from that and you have a date with Munin. Understand?" She asked, her eyes glowing for half of a second as she tapped into her Aura.

"Crystal clear Sis. Now get going, otherwise you won't get back anytime soon," Qrow said as Raven just nodded. It shouldn't take her more than a week to get back: two days to get there, one day to talk and recharge her reserves then another two days to get back. Heading out of the room, Qrow closed it behind her as Raven made her way to the forest knowing that swinging her sword in a crowded area like the town was a bad idea.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _With Weiss and Qrow_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

"So... what makes you so special, hm?" Qrow commented after Raven left, turning to see the kitten on the bed. He knew that she would have to use more than one to make it to Patch, spend time with her true family and then get back here to the...daughter that she adopted. Something that he still didn't understand.

"What do you mean?"

"Raven…she has a family, a true family. A husband, daughter, everything and then one day she just runs away from it all. Next I see her, she's with a new brat that she has no ties to. So…what makes it so that she runs away from her perfect life in Patch to becoming a wanderer with a stray kitty cat like you?" he asked, anger invading his tone at the end of his rant.

Weiss's tail drooped after hearing him say all that, not sure how to respond. She did, however; know that she needed to get away from this man. She didn't want to be in the same room as a person who held so much negativity towards her…and decided to leave the room, running past the man.

"Weiss, wait!" Qrow shouted as he attempted to run after her. There were a few problems with that though: Weiss was smaller than him, as well as more agile. She was also more flexible than him…so when he finally got outside the hotel, all he could see was a small speck of a blue-white tail. And while he was experienced with people who had Semblances that used clones, he wasn't familiar with Weiss. As such, he wasn't unsure what to look for when it came to choosing between the real Weiss and the clone of hers.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _With Weiss_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

Weiss panted as she stood at the entrance of the park from yesterday. She had used Duplicate to confuse and get away from Qrow. _'He's almost as bad as father was…'_ she thought while catching her breath, not used to full out sprinting like that. Small bursts, on the other hand…plus, she had never run while being emotional before running, both factors contributing to the fact that Weiss was currently out of breath. Thankful to be alone, she quickly fell backwards onto the snowy plains and closed her eyes for a brief second. This; however, proved to be a big mistake as she was then hit with a snowball.

"I thought I told you not to come back here, you freak," Whitley commented before another snowball was thrown. However, unlike the previous one, this had a small amount of ice in the middle of it, wanting to make sure that he hurt the cat Faunus. Weiss tried pulling up a defensive glyph, but due to her fatigue it would only hold for so long and five ice-filled snowballs later, the glyph started cracking before breaking completely.

"Now get her, before she can use any other glyphs! But don't knock her out, I want to talk to her," Whitley exclaimed, which caused Weiss to hiss lightly in anger at that. She knew that telling him the truth was bad; not only did she not consider herself a Schnee ever since her _father_ threw her out, but she knew that he would never believe her.

As the first bully came close, she tried blocking his sloppy punch with her arm, executing what was called a middle block. Luckily for her, it was enough to push him off course. Unfortunately, she didn't see the second bully come from behind until it was too late, and she was forced to the ground. From there, Whitley and his cronies started ganging up on her. All three were kicking her, and one of the bullies found a perverse pleasure in yanking on her tail, causing her to yowl in pain as the blows continued raining down on her.

"Get her up!" Whitley exclaimed after fifteen minutes of beating the feline. As his friends did as Whitley ordered, though they could already see her Aura trying to heal the damage they caused. Wincing lightly as they roughly brought her into a standing position, the two minions held onto her arms tightly. "Now then, I'm going to ask you a question, Faunus scum. Answer truthfully and we'll be kind. Tell us lies however…" he said, letting the threat hang in the air.

"Is this…how you get… off?" Weiss breathed out, before wincing lightly as she got punched in the gut.

"Just because you're a female doesn't mean I won't hit you, remember that. If you were an actual lady, then I'd reconsider, but you're just a filthy animal pretending to be human. So, I don't feel that bad about any of this. But I guess with such a filthy mouth that I should lay some ground rules. Tame animals do follow those after all…" he taunted but Weiss resisted reacting to the bait. Tsk'ing lightly at that, he continued. "Rule one: You won't tell anyone about this after we're done. If you do, we'll know…and as a Schnee, I have certain privileges that others do not. Rule Two: You will not badmouth my family name. Well…technically you're already doing it by somehow using those glyphs of ours…"

"Go…to…Hell…" she commented before getting hit in the gut again, this time by Whitley himself. This caused her to grunt lightly. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of crying out in pain.

"And now you've just broken rule three. Bad Kitty," he said with a grin. "And just so that you don't break it again, rule three is this: No talking unless spoken to and only then it's to speak the truth. Understand?" He asked before getting a defiant stare from the ice blue eyes of Weiss Sanara. This caused him to growl lightly before nodding to his buddy on the left. The goon quickly moved his foot to being above Weiss's tail and then let gravity take its course, stomping on it. Subconsciously, she tried pulling her tail close to her body, but the goon was having none of it as he kept his foot firmly on it.

"Do. You. Understand?" he asked as he balled his hand into a fist, getting ready to hit her again if she didn't comply. Before he could do so, someone grabbed his fist.

"Is this how the people here settle things? By ganging up on people?" a female voice asked, anger clearly in her tone as she moved her hand down so that she now held onto Whitney's wrist before putting pressure on it. Before his minions could let go and help their 'boss', the blonde-haired female glanced at them as her lilac eyes changing to crimson. This caused them to pause and reconsider helping Whitley. Valuing their pride and lives, they quickly turned and fled. Whitley followed suit soon after, but not before giving the two a nasty glare.

Once making sure that the trio of bullies was gone, the blonde-haired woman went over to the feline faunus. Making sure to not appear intimidating at all, she slowly kneeled in front of her. "Do you want any help?" she asked the cat Faunus.

"I'm fine. Thanks though," she replied before slowly getting into a sitting position. Not realizing how close she was to the new girl, Weiss was caught staring into a pair of lilac eyes…that were way to close to her for comfort, causing Weiss to scramble. This caused some of her injuries to remind her that they were still there, causing her to hiss lightly in pain.

"Hey! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" she exclaimed before moving back just a little. Seeing the cat Faunus slowly breathing in and out, she smiled lightly. "Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot, I'm Yang. I also promise that I'm not gonna hurt you. And you?" Yang said as she extended her hand to the cat Faunus, leaving it there so that she could take her time. After something like that, Yang had a feeling the girl wasn't that trusting in humans right now.

Weiss looked at the hand, before looking up at the smiling face of Yang, surprised at how similar she looked to Raven. Sniffling once, Weiss slowly got herself quickly composed. Taking the offered hand, she noticed that Yang's smile got bigger as she pulled Weiss up. Not only that, but she felt a soft warmth surround her as the human female did so. Nothing that would chase the cold of the region away, but something that promised she was safe, protected. Shaking the thought away, she noticed that Yang was still waiting for an answer, a name.

"Weiss. And…thanks for the help," she said after a while. If this was five years ago, she wouldn't bother thanking the girl, but Raven had proven how valuable teamwork and asking for help was. Sun, in his own way, also showed how appropriate that was as well.

"Don't mention it Weissy! Back home, we all get along…none of this discrimination nonsense," Yang said as her grin didn't falter in the least. However, hearing the mangling of her name, Weiss narrowed her eyes lightly at that.

"It's Weiss. Not Weissy or anything like that."

"Aw…don't be a stick in the mud Weissy," Yang said, ignoring Weiss's comment completely. She also ignored the light growl that came from Weiss as well. Seeing her father waving at her, she smiled before waving back. "Seriously though, will you be okay? I can ask dad if you can follow us around if you want," she offered as Weiss just shook her head at that.

"Alright then Weiss. I hope I see you around," she said before heading towards her father, waving back towards the white-haired girl. Responding with a wave of her own, Weiss idly wondered why Yang looked so much like Raven…and if Yang had Faunus-like hearing, she would have heard the words that Weiss thought she was thinking…

"There you are," Qrow muttered after Yang and her father had left. It was actually lucky that Qrow didn't see Yang and her father, Taiyang; that way he wouldn't have to answer any unwanted questions. Like why he was here when he should have been looking after Ruby, Yang's sister, for example. Then again, if Tai had told them that they were going to be in Atlas for a Winter Wonderland, then he wouldn't have sent Raven back to Patch…

Weiss winced lightly as she heard Raven's brother's voice cut through the air, but she didn't shrink back or do anything to react to that fear. Seeing Qrow looking glad to see her, she tensed up since she was expecting another verbal lashing. "You've been looking for me?" she asked, a little surprised as Qrow came closer to her.

"Why wouldn't I? Sure, I may not totally like you for gallivanting through the world with my sister instead of her staying with her family, but I gotta admit that you have quite some skills there, especially when it comes to fleeing," he replied. And that, was true.

"Then…can we try again? Start over from scratch?" Weiss asked as Qrow thought about it for a few seconds. While thinking, Weiss was squirming lightly, not sure what was going on in that head of his, and it sort of scared her.

"I suppose we can do that," he said with his patented smirk in place. He hadn't seen what happened, but he could guess that Weiss was in a fight based on the bruises that were still healing. And if she was still conscious and standing; that meant one of two things: either she could fight on her own, or she could take one hell of a beating and continue onwards as if nothing happened. Either option slightly impressed him. "I'm Qrow Branwen, older brother of Raven Xiao Long. Also, a drunk," he said while adding the last part on as if he was proud of it, causing Weiss to shake her head at that.

"I can see why mom wants to hurt you," Weiss commented, getting a raised eyebrow from Qrow as a result. Instead of elaborating on the comment, she continued her introduction. "and I am Weiss Sanara…bastard child of Jacques Schnee and Calypso 'Cal' Sanara."

"I see. Though I'm not going to apologize for my earlier actions," he replied to which Weiss scowled lightly. Then again, they considered that water under the bridge, so she let it slide…as much as she didn't want to.

"I didn't expect you to…Uncle?" she tested.

"Just Qrow will do," he said quickly, causing Weiss to nod. After that, they both headed back to the hotel. While on the way back, Qrow ducked into an unused alleyway as he spotted Yang and her father once again. Weiss was about to start waving before Qrow stopped her.

"What are you doing?" he whispered aggressively, almost scared of having the duo find him since he wasn't supposed to be here. Once the two were out of view, Weiss turned towards the man, glaring angrily at him before asking why the hell she shouldn't use a glyph on him right then and there.

"Because they know me," he said, leaving it at that. Qrow didn't know if Raven had told Weiss or not about her past. And since he didn't know, he wouldn't be telling that story anytime soon. Not only was it not his story to tell…but he valued his skin far too much for that.

 **~_~_~_~_~_~** ** _With Raven_** **~_~_~_~_~_~**

Raven panted lightly as she appeared in an alleyway within the City of Vale. Breathing heavily, she looked around before realizing where she was, especially when she could see the prestigious white cathedral-like building known as Beacon Academy. Deciding that the best course of action was to steer clear of the school, to not get caught up in any of Ozpin's schemes just yet, she went towards a hotel that frequented. Stepping onto the familiar marble floor, she let out a soft sigh as the atmosphere enveloped her once more.

"Mrs. Xiao Long, welcome back. It's been a while since we've last seen you," Phillip said as he greeted Raven.

"It's actually Miss Branwen again, Phillip," Raven replied. In fact, if she remembered correctly, the last time that she was here was when she and Taiyang had just gotten married. "Is my usual room available currently?" she asked to which he nodded.

"My apologies. I will have Shu escort you to your room Ms. Branwen," Phillip replied as he gave Raven her key. "Will you be staying with us long this visit?" he asked. Raven thought about the answer for a few seconds before responding that she would only be here for a couple of days.

Nodding at that, Shu escorted her to a standard room that was on the fourth floor. After asking if she needed anything else and getting a negative response in return, he bowed lightly before closing the door. Immediately after that happened, Raven locked the door before dressing down to her undergarments and fell onto the bed, quickly heading to dreamland as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Tomorrow would be a day of rest and relaxation to gain her energy back. And if something changed that, well…that thing would not be in the world of the living for long.

 **Chapter End**


	4. Past Problems in the Icy Tundra 2

Dragon and Sword Master: Once again, the Grimble is another fanart picture from the wonderful Blue-Hearts on DA. Despite being a cute little dog, it is still a Grimm…and quite possibly capable of tearing your face off.

 _ **Chapter 4: Past Problems in the Icy Tundra Part 2**_

Raven woke up and quickly grabbed for Munin as she didn't recognize the surroundings that she was in for half of a second. However, events from the previous day came back to her and she slowly put the Odachi back into its scabbard. _'So glad that Weiss or Qrow didn't see me just then…'_ she thought, blushing up a storm knowing that they would have never let her live it down otherwise.

Blinking back the sleep in her eyes, she noticed that she was just outside the kingdom of Vale and sighed lightly as she continued waking up. Once fully awake, she did her morning rituals and got ready for the day. She knew that she couldn't use her portal for another day or two and was forced to stay within the village. Sighing lightly after getting dressed, she wondered just what there was to do around here…

Stepping out of the Inn, she raised her hand as the sun battered her eyes. This was going to be another long two days…

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Weiss and Qrow_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

"Again!" Qrow shouted, getting a nod from the female feline as she got up in her stance. The first time that he had asked if she knew how to use the rapier that was on the bedside next to her, she nodded her head at that. In response, Qrow asked to see what she could do. Once doing so, he noticed that she was still stiff when it came to swordplay. As such, while Raven was gone he was trying to correct her on that.

"This…is hard…" she commented, breathing heavily as she brought her rapier back up.

"Most things are Weiss, but you are getting better. You're almost as good as my niece Ruby is with the practice Scythe that I gave her," he commented, giving her a rare, but definitely earned, compliment.

"Thanks," Weiss said before picking herself back up, though this time her rapier was at her side instead of held like she normally did: held away from her body and her elbow at a forty-five-degree angle. Qrow smirked lightly at that since that was the first step in being unpredictable and not committing to any stance. Though whether it was out of fatigue or not was the question...

"Good, just like that. Not only do you look open, but you lull your opponent into making the first move. Which is always a mistake on their part."

"Because they aren't as calm and patient as I am?" she asked, getting a nod from the male. "So now what?" she asked.

"Now we practice your resolve with that form, if you want to, that is. I'm not a slave driver. If you want to stop for today, then just say the word," Qrow said as Weiss thought about it for a few seconds before shrugging lightly.

"You told me you were going to help me with becoming unpredictable in battle. Practice like this is nothing. I can still do this," Weiss exclaimed before getting up on her two feet, slowly setting herself into the form that she had just learned. Her rapier pointing towards the ground and her feet a shoulder's length apart.

"Alright then, here's what we're going to do. You'll stay in that stance and I'll come at you randomly. Your task is to block or move my blade. And don't worry about its size or weight, I'm using White Gravity Dust to make it lighter. Don't want your weapon to break or anything," he said with a light chuckle while noticing the death glare he got for his troubles of saying such a thing. "Kitty, I've seen death glares from Summer Rose and my sister that are more potent and deadlier than yours. And they could back those up," he commented before Weiss scowled lightly.

"Alright fine, you win." She growled out as he smirked once again. "Now then, are we going to start training or what?" she exclaimed, being just a little bit pushy at that.

"Just remember you said that when this is over kid," Qrow said before rushing in, pulling his sword out and going for a thrusting motion. Weiss quickly blocked it by bringing her rapier up, and because of that, she was pushed backwards. However, she wasn't skewered… even if she really wanted to use a Glyph instead to push him back.

"Not bad kid. Now let's see if you can keep it up," he said with a smirk. Not only was he going to come at the cat Faunus at random intervals, but also at random angles and range of attacking. He was going to make sure that she was good enough to be around his sister…

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Raven_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

"I cannot believe my luck…or lack thereof," Raven muttered. Having been told about a bar by a citizen, she made her ways towards it. Being the only female in the bar, she sauntered towards the counter and asked for some whiskey once taking a seat. Looking around, she noticed how everyone was starting to look at her as if she was a slab of meat, which she quickly disintegrated by drawing Munin and stabbing it into the floor next to her. Before the barkeeper could open his mouth to say something, Raven placed a card full of Lien on the counter. Quickly taking the card, the barkeeper poured Raven what she had asked: three shots of whiskey.

"So... what brings you here stranger?" one of the male patrons asked as he took the chair that was next to her, not minding the sword that stabbed into the floor.

"Not interested" she said, hoping that would be enough for him to get the hint and leave. Apparently; however, it was not as he continued talking to her. But since he wasn't doing anything other than annoying her, Raven decided to just tune him out. Slamming back another shot, Raven looked over the bar wondering what else that she could do to pass the day until she felt a hand on her wrist. Turning back around to see who was foolhardy enough, she saw the same man from a few seconds prior. "Still not interested. And you're going to lose that hand in three seconds if you don't let go," she said with narrowed eyes.

"I highly doubt that you can pull that blade up with just one hand missy," the guy said as Raven just narrowed her eyes at the idiot. He was still holding onto her arm, but luckily it wasn't the one that was closest to the sword. "You just don't have the-" anything that was going to be said after that was lost to the man as he started howling in pain while watching his wrist bleeding profusely on the floor. Once he got enough control over his pain, anger started seeping from the man in droves. "You bitch!" he shouted.

"I did warn you," Raven said nonchalantly while shooting back another round of whiskey. "Not my fault you didn't believe me," she said before putting the glass back on the bar upside down. With two shots down, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be enjoying the third one peacefully. In a fit of rage, the now one-handed man charged her. Raven just shook her head in pity as she reattached her sword to her belt, wondering if his stupidity was from the alcohol or genetic. Ducking lazily under the swipe of the angry challenger, she did some quick jabs to his solar plexus before sending him flying into a few nearby tables with a mule kick.

Thinking it was over, she was quickly surprised when another patron snuck up behind her before placing a knife to her throat.

"Now that wasn't very nice what you did to my friend over there…"

Raven could now confirm that it was indeed the alcohol that was making these men stupid as she knocked the guy in the face with a backwards headbutt. She soon followed that up by lifting her lower body up and wrapped her legs around the guy's head. The one-handed man's friend soon joined him as he was flung across the room to the exact same spot. Raven then turned to the other patrons, a dark aura surrounding her.

"Anyone else think they can woo me tonight?" She asked casually, wiping the dust from her clothes. Not getting a response, she smirked and turned back to the bar. Maybe now she can enjoy that third drink…or maybe not. Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, she sighed as she saw a third man starting to get up. Unlike the others though, she knew this man had some fighting experience…and wasn't drunk. Not wanting to damage the bar any further, Raven quickly took the third shot of whiskey before drinking it and placing the empty cup, along with a few cards of Lien on the table for the damages before walking out of the bar, the other man following her.

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Weiss and Qrow_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

"Alright kiddo, that's enough for right now. Take a break," Qrow commented, noticing that Weiss was breathing heavily and barely standing, using her rapier as if it were a crutch.

"I…can…still…"

"No, you can't Weiss. You can barely stand and I bet even a lowly Grimble could take you out," he commented. He sighed as he continued seeing Weiss trying to get up. "I swear my sister taught you her stubbornness as well. Rest." he ordered while keeping an eye on her. Seeing that she had opted to rest on the ground, he chuckled lightly at that but kept an eye on her all the same.

Fifteen minutes later, Weiss felt semi-refreshed and was slowly starting to stand. Seeing a crow above her, she looked at it curiously before it flew down. Once hitting the ground, it turned back into the man who had been training her while her mother was…somewhere. Before she could ask, he quickly replied that it was his semblance. "That's…actually quite interesting" Weiss said.

Qrow just shrugged his shoulders at that. He could tell Weiss it helped with what he did, but then again, he was never sure as to who was listening. He could easily name the amount of people who knew about his semblance on one hand, though now it was almost two, though only Ozpin knew what it was that he did. "So…what exactly can I do if I can't train?" Weiss asked as Qrow shrugged once again.

"You can sing, go ice skating, or there's all this snow on the ground. Surely you know what you can do with snow, right kiddo?" he asked

"I know what snow is," Weiss snapped back. Before he could say anything else, teasing or serious, Weiss quickly used a glyph to form a snowball before throwing it at him. "See?" she added with a light smirk on her face as it hit him square in the face. After the snow fell off his face, he saw the white-haired feline smirking lightly before mirroring the look himself.

"You realize that this means war, right?" he asked, causing the girl to gulp lightly in response at that as Weiss created a Haste Duplicate, who after being summoned just for five seconds, already had ten snowballs made.

"…Now that's just not fair…" he admitted before starting to dodge and pick up snow at the same time, throwing whenever he could, which wasn't often sadly. This is what Yang and Taiyang came to see after two hours had passed without seeing him.

"Weissy!" Yang exclaimed as Tai just smirked at that.

"So this is the Cat Faunus you told me about yesterday…"

"Dad…" Yang whined before ducking under a wayward snowball that came their way, hitting her father straight in the face causing her to laugh out loud…right before getting snow dumped onto her head and hair. "Hey!" she shouted, annoyed.

"Revenge!" Tai shouted, amused at the reaction of his daughter before seeing her glare and mentally gulped.

"Weiss, you wouldn't mind teaming up with me, would you?" she asked as the cat Faunus thought about it for a few seconds before nodding, an evil smirk starting to form on her face.

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Raven_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

Raven stumbled into her hotel room, feeling her Aura slowly healing her bruised and battered body. Sure, the two idiots at the bar were easy to deal with, but the man who followed her outside had been anything but. "Ugh…" she moaned into her pillow. However, if that was going to be the consequence for defending herself from drunk idiots, then so be it. She wasn't permanently hurt, and she knew that by tomorrow morning she would be feeling as if nothing happened; one of the great benefits of being able to tap into your Aura.

Though what worried her more was that during the day, she started hearing that voice again. The same voice that she heard back when they were in Vacuo…

' _What is that voice anyways…?'_ she thought, especially since it seemed like it would only criticize her. At least it was something that she could ignore, but it was starting to get annoying all the same. At least tomorrow she could finally get to Patch and talk to Taiyang like her brother wanted, as well as maybe see her daughter. Maybe.

' _ **Or it could just blow up in your face…'**_ it commented, causing Raven to sigh. That was a possibility also, but either way, after she tried she wouldn't have to deal with her brother pestering her anymore before slowly falling asleep.

Four hours later, Raven's crimson eyes opened wide as she sat up, hyperventilating. Sure, she knew that was a possibility but seeing it play out like that…that wasn't something she wanted to see. Sighing lightly, she closed her eyes in a hope to get a little more sleep. Though she had a feeling that it would be troubled at best…

However, seven hours later, Raven slowly woke up to the world. Grabbing her sword and clipping it to her belt, she closed her eyes for a few seconds to check on her Aura. Finding that it was at optimal levels, she could head back to Patch. Of course, this would be after she paid off her tab. Heading down the stairs, she saw one of the people that she had taken out yesterday at the bar and sighed lightly, expecting even more trouble. What made it even worse was it was the guy that she cut the hand off as well. _'Great. Just great,'_ she thought. Going against her better judgement, she made her presence known.

"I'd like to checkout please," she said while mentally preparing herself for another fight, just in case. However, she didn't see the man flinch as he heard her voice.

"M-ma'am" he stammered lightly, causing Raven to turn and look at him, hand on her sword just in case.

"Can I help you?"

"I... I want to apologize for my actions yesterday. For both myself and my buddies," he said. "We were drunk. I know it's not much of an excuse, but it's the truth," he said, not knowing what else to say or do.

"And you think I'm just going to forgive you, just like that?" she bit out, not easily giving him the forgiveness that he was looking for. "You and your friends deserved what you got yesterday, and it wouldn't have happened if you just _listened_. Next time a female says 'No', you listen to her. Understand?" she asked, getting a quick nod from the man.

"I will, I promise," he commented while doing his best not to piss himself as the woman walked past him and exited the building. After exiting, she grabbed her sword and swished it behind her while activating her semblance. With the pool of crimson behind her, she quickly walked into the portal. Walking out of it, she was at the destination that she didn't want to be back anytime soon: Patch. Seeing the log cabin in front of her, she sighed lightly at this, clearly wondering if this would end in a positive outcome.

' _Having cold feet? What would your brother say, hm?'_

" **Oh shut up. I just think this is a bad idea all around,"** Raven replied…before realizing that she was talking to herself and sighed lightly while wondering if she was going insane or not. Deciding that it was better to just not ask as she made her way towards the door. Thinking for a few seconds, she reached down and picked up the hidden key underneath the loose plank. _'Why doesn't Tai ever fix that…?'_ she wondered before shrugging lightly and letting herself inside, being careful not to make any sound as she traversed the place that she once called home.

However, before she could make her way to where Yang's room once was when she was still with them, before hearing a door open. Turning around, she saw a young female with black hair and instantly wondered who it was, especially since she knew that her daughter was a blonde, just like her husband.

"Hello?" the young girl asked, wondering if she did see someone outside her door while looking around. At the age of eight, the red cloak that she was wearing wrapped around her body like a blanket instead of a nightgown.

' _Summer? No wait, her cloak was white. And besides, I heard that Summer died. She must be Summer's kid, going by the cloak…but…did Tai marry Summer?'_ she thought to herself while mentally hating the idea of such a thought. Then again…she did vanish off the face of the earth. Why wouldn't he have remarried?

"I-I'm friends with the mayor! I can call him right now and have him rally the police!" she shouted bravely.

"Relax little one, I'm friends with your papa. Is he home?" Raven asked, telling the girl a small lie. Before the girl could respond, she let out a light little sneeze and cough.

"Sorry…Yang and papa aren't here. It's only me," the brunette replied before coughing again, albeit a little harder than before. "I got sick the day before we were to go to Atlas …" she replied as Raven's eyes widened in surprise before quickly shaking the emotion away.

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Ruby," she identified herself as, believing that she could trust the woman in front of her since she identified herself as one of her father's friends.

"Well then, I'm sorry to hear that Ruby. Though, you know…you remind me a lot of my partner. Would you happen to know a Summer Rose?" she asked, feigning interest. Though when she saw her silver eyes light up, Raven smirked for the briefest of seconds.

"She's my mom, though she passed away a few years ago," she replied with a light frown. "I wish I could remember what she looked like…"

"You don't have any memories of her?" Raven asked as Ruby nodded in response. "Well then…how about I tell you a story?"

' _Another person that isn't your daughter…and yet you're acting motherly to her…'_ the voice commented, causing Raven to growl lightly but ultimately ignored it.

"Raven?"

"Sorry…Now then, how about I tell you about the first time I met your mother, hm?" She asked, getting the attention of the young girl.

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Weiss_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

"So…what should I do with Whitley?" Weiss asked as Qrow lounged on the bed that belonged to his sister, both mostly ready for bed. She had been letting that thought go through her head ever since the snowball fight ended and both Tai and Yang left for their hotel.

"I can't fight your battles for you princess. If your younger brother is causing you trouble, then figure it out on your own," Qrow responded.

"...Somehow, I had a feeling you would say that," Weiss said with a sigh before thinking on how to handle the little racist. She already knew that he was a little bully, wanting to overwhelm his opponent with numbers and especially not fight fairly, if her previous altercation was any indication.

"Well that's the real world for you. The only person you can truly rely on is yourself; the quicker you learn that the better off you are," he responded before taking a swig out of his flask. "Anyways princess, I'm going to sleep. You're welcome to do a little training outside if you want but don't go too far" he added before getting comfortable on the bed and falling asleep. He was glad that he had already come up with how he knew the girl without telling the two about Raven.

Again, he valued his skin way too much to betray his sister like that. Antagonizing her about it was one thing, telling Tai and Yang about it was just going to bring about disaster. Besides…it seemed like both of Raven's daughters were hitting it off, and he _definitely_ didn't want to mess with that.

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Yang and Tai_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

Tai was grinning at seeing his young daughter smile for the first time in what seemed like a long time…even if it was somewhat at his expense. Though he was curious as to what Raven's brother was doing with that Feline Faunus. He'd ask him the next time that he came around. "So…that was the faunus girl you were telling me about. I can see why she caught your cat's eye," Tai said with a grin, laughing when she groaned lightly at that one.

"Oh come on Sunshine, I don't groan at your puns now do I?"

"But mine aren't as bad as yours," Yang replied with a smug look, though she tilted her head to the side when her dad gave her a look of disbelieving. "What? They aren't"

"Keep telling yourself that Sunshine. Keep telling yourself that," Tai replied as Yang just pouted at that one before growling at Tai for doing such an act. However, if it was anyone else who did that, then they would have just lost said hand.

Yet the only thing that Taiyang Xiao Long had to hear was the whining voice of "Daaaaaaaaad!" coming from his young blonde daughter.

' _Still though…how did Qrow know that girl?'_ he thought while also wondering where his wife was in the wonderful world of Remnant.

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Ruby and Raven_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

"There's no way that is true Raven," Ruby said as she waited at the table as Raven was making some food. Granted she couldn't use the oven/stove without directions, the microwave was a different story. And it seemed as if Taiyang had thought ahead enough to give Ruby enough dinners to last her a month.

"It is definitely true. Your Uncle Qrow wore a skirt for one straight week because of a dare. Ask your father…" at this, she got a faraway look to her as well as an air of sadness.

"Um…Raven?" Ruby asked, wondering if she was okay or not. Before Raven could answer, the microwave beeped, indicating that it was done heating the food for them. Taking it out, she placed both on the counter and let the girl choose which one to take first. After that, she thought about which story would be great to tell the eight-year-old. As she was eating, the woman got a grin on her face as the perfect story came to mind.

Once they were done eating, Raven took the plates to the sink before washing them and then asking Ruby where they went. With that done, Raven turned the brunette with a light smirk on her face. "Did your dad ever tell you about the time we went on a Cookie Raid because of your mother?" she asked, having a feeling that Ruby loved cookies as much as her mother did.

"Dad never told me about that…"

"Well then, it was late at night and your mother was craving cookies. Nothing new, I'm sure you've been told that a thousand times, but it happened. Usually, I, as her partner kept a bag of cookies in the nightstand for just the occasion. Unfortunately, those bags were empty and I hadn't gone into Vale to restock. So, your mother has the brilliant idea to steal cookies from the kitchen."

"Mom would never do something like that…she was too nice to do something like that!" Ruby quickly said, as she came to the defense of her mother. This caused Raven to smile softly. _'You could be having this with Yang you know…'_ the voice said, which Raven ignored for the time being.

"I was there Ruby, it happened. Your mother made a raid of the kitchen, got her cookies, involved all of us and didn't get caught. None of us were, surprisingly."

"How'd you do it?"

"That will have to be a story for another time little Red. It's getting late, and I'd hate to hear that your cold came back because of me keeping you from your rest. I promise to tell it to you tomorrow, deal?" Raven replied as she got a little pout from the eight-year-old.

"You better keep it…"

"I will. Cross my heart," Raven replied as Ruby stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. She only did so because she could see no deceit in Raven's eyes. As Raven watched Ruby go to bed, she waited a few hours before sneaking towards her bedroom. Seeing the girl sleeping with a dog-like pillow, Raven let out a soft sigh before going back to the front door and heading outside.

Once a fair distance away, the older female closed her eyes for a second before slashing the air in front of her, creating a portal. Though she felt like it wouldn't take her back to the city town in Vale that she had stayed before…not that she wanted to risk another bar room brawl. Closing the portal and feeling the energy return to her, Raven headed back inside. It would be another two days before she had enough energy to make the necessary jumps to get back to Weiss.

She just hoped that by that time, Qrow wouldn't have had corrupted her in any type of manner.

~_~_~_~_~_~ _With Weiss_ ~_~_~_~_~_~

True that Qrow had stated it wasn't the best of ideas to go confront the brat, but he hadn't fully forbidden her from going back to the park either. Though the feline Faunus had a feeling that Qrow wouldn't be liking the idea all the same. Making sure that he was asleep, she tiptoed through the apartment until she was at the door. Carefully opening it, she made sure that she could still hear the man's light snoring before closing it again just as softly. She couldn't understand why the man wanted to take a nap in the middle of the day, but that was his priority, not hers.

' _This is such a bad idea…'_

Shaking her head to get rid of that random thought, she continued onwards, wanting to enjoy the day. And if she just so happened to run into Whitley and his bullies again, then so be it. Unlike last time, she was ready for his dirty tricks.

' _This would be a perfect place for me to test and see if my training in speed casting has paid off or not…'_ Weiss thought before she saw the park once more in its clean, innocent visage. Though she knew firsthand how false that could be. Shaking her head to get out of those negative thoughts, she went back to the spot that she was at before. This time she made sure to pay close attention to her surroundings; Whitley wasn't going to surprise her this time. And while she wanted to summon Snow, her Duplicate, she wanted to keep that knowledge away from Whitley.

She had already given him enough knowledge with the fact that she could use the same glyphs as he could. And if he bragged around the mansion that was her former home…she didn't even want to think of the consequences of that. Seeing that Whitley or his goons weren't even remotely around now, Weiss created a few glyphs to prepare for the upcoming battle: an alarm glyph at the start of the cliff just in case, as well as preparing a Haste and Shield glyph to make herself more durable and faster. She would push her Aura into the constructs on the snow as soon as her Alarm Glyph went off. It wouldn't be as strong, but it would still work.

And this was how she spent the next two hours, patiently waiting for Whitley to show up, if he would show up at all. Another hour passed and she was just about to destroy the constructs in the snow when her Alarm Glyph went off. Then another. And finally, the third one went off. When the third one went off, Weiss pushed her Aura into the two constructs and felt the effects of the two glyphs surround her; albeit not as powerful due to how long ago she placed them. _'Something else to work on then. Maybe'_ she thought before hearing a 'Tsk'ing' sound.

"I thought I told you this was our spot _Cat,_ and that I didn't want to see your face around here again," Whitley commented before noticing the faunus looking around. "What are you doing?" he finally asked after a few seconds.

"Looking for the name 'Schnee' since you said this was your spot. Funny though…I don't see it anywhere. Are you sure this is 'Property of Whitley Schnee'?" she asked snarkily, mentally smirking when she heard him growl at that comment.

"I don't need a sign you stupid Cat, people just know what spots are mine, like this one," he growled out. "Now are you going to move, or am I going to have to force you to move?" he threatened while his two 'friends' started moving towards her. Weiss reacted by pushing Aura into the two Glyphs she made earlier and into a defense stance; she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Seeing the animal get into a defense stance, Whitley ordered the two to attack her. He wanted his friends to soften the faunus up before he started his brand of 'fun'. Was it fair? No. Did he care? Not in the slightest. He was a Schnee and as a Schnee…he could afford to bend the rules. Though what he was seeing caused him to be a little alarmed. The animal…was fighting back. And from the look of things, she was currently _winning_.

Weiss ducked under a punch before rolling to the side as minion number one followed it up with a stomp. This caused snow to billow into the air, blinding everyone in the vicinity temporarily. Quickly getting back into her stance, she waited until she heard breathing from behind her and twisted to the side while delivering a vicious kick. Unfortunately, her shin met the shin of her attackers, canceling out the strike. As the snow fell back to the ground, Weiss saw the second minion coming towards her with his fist cocked back and she was unable to dodge with him so close. Crossing her arms in front of her, she took the hit, his power causing the cat girl to move back a couple of feet.

"Not bad. I almost felt that one," she smirked, causing both males to growl out and rush towards her, attempting to tackle her to the ground. What she didn't expect was the lightning bolt that came from behind. Gritting her teeth in pain, Weiss noticed her half-brother holding out a hand with a glyph just starting to fade away.

"Forgot about me did you _kitty cat?_ " Whitley asked with what sounded like a smirk starting to form on his face. Before Weiss could comment, Whitley grinned and sent a second shock bolt towards Weiss, causing her to cry out in pain. After the bolt of electrical energy dissipated, Weiss's body had random sparks dancing around her body as her Aura worked on fixing her nerves.

She had forgotten about him…and that had cost her. Like last fight, Weiss thought he was going to stay back and let his lackeys do the fighting for him. However, it seemed as if he was also capable of cowardly attacks to the back as well, which shouldn't surprise her. Keeping that thought in mind, Weiss ducked under a kick from one of the two minions before using a sweep kick to knock the male off balance before quickly kicking him in-between the legs, effectively taking him out of the fight due to the pain.

' _One Down…'_ she thought, hoping that it was true. She knew that he could come back into the fight if he really wanted to, but had to move that to the back of her mind as she dodged another punch that the goon telegraphed from far away. Pivoting to the side, Weiss continued the motion and brought her elbow up, the point hitting him in-between the shoulder blades, causing him to go down due to the unexpected attack from the cat Faunus. She quickly followed it up with a kick to the face, knocking him out.

Whitley looked startled as he saw his friends beaten at the hands of this lowly animal. Preparing another glyph, Weiss turned and gave him a nasty glare. A glare that just dared him to try something stupid when he didn't have his hit squad with him. Whitley returned the glare with narrowed eyes, thinking better of it. Deciding that a strategic retreat was in order and made his way down the cliff, not saying a word. However, he did wake his unconscious friend up and they both helped the male that was hit in the balls to his feet. He would be walking funny for a bit, but he would live.

A few seconds after the trio left, Weiss was startled as a voice vibrated from above her, "Not bad kiddo...guess my Sis has been teaching you a few tricks of her trade" Qrow said as he sat on the branch, his patented smirk in place as she looked up.

"How long have you been there? And better yet…how did you get there?!" Weiss exclaimed, curious. She was also a little annoyed that she couldn't sense him until he spoke. Though her annoyance would only grow if he said something about being there since the start of the 'fight' and not stepping in unless it got out of hand.


End file.
